Thanks to advanced therapies and technologies, more people are surviving breast cancer than ever before.
Maimonides Breast Center is helping to lead the way: We’re among the top breast cancer care teams nationwide, according to the American College of Surgeons. This recognition affirms that we offer advanced diagnostic technology and a full range of quality treatments.
We offer this range of options because we believe in treating the whole patient, not just the disease. We are not just a team of experts, but an expert team, there to answer your questions and guide you through every step of treatment and recovery.
And we can start without delay: If you have a suspected diagnosis or a diagnosis of breast cancer, we can see you within 1-2 business days of your appointment request.
Advanced breast cancer treatment options
Our dedicated team of breast and reconstructive surgeons, oncologists, radiologists, and other specialists tailor therapies to your diagnosis. Working together—and with you—they’ll create a treatment plan including one or more of the following:
Rapid, precise diagnosis
If you have a suspected diagnosis of breast cancer, we can rapidly confirm the diagnosis and begin treatment.
Through our rapid assessment service, we can schedule an appointment within 1-2 business days of an appointment request—and sometimes as early as the same day. Upon diagnosis, your care team will immediately set up appointments with specialists in your specific type of cancer. From diagnosis to treatment, we can save days of time, which can improve outcomes.
To ensure the most accurate diagnoses and effective treatment planning, we offer the most advanced diagnostic technologies, including:
- 3D mammograms (tomosynthesis)
- Stereotactic biopsy table
- Wire-free radar localization for lumpectomy
Genetic testing and counseling
We offer testing to determine if you—or your family members—have genetic mutations that put you at high risk of specific cancers. If you do, we’ll develop individualized plans to detect these cancers in their early stages or prevent them entirely.
Breast surgery
Surgery to remove the tumor is often the first step in breast cancer treatment. Our surgeons focus on preserving as much of your healthy breast tissue as possible. We offer:
- Minimally invasive lumpectomy:Lumpectomy is a procedure to remove the tumor. Our surgeons typically use minimally invasive techniques, which help reduce scarring, incision size and blood loss—and speed recovery.
- Minimally invasive mastectomy: Our surgeons’ minimally invasive techniques speed recovery, allow for a more cosmetic outcome and improve the quality of later breast reconstruction, among other benefits.
- Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS):If you would like to have your breasts reconstructed, our plastic surgeons will help you choose the best option based on your individual needs. We offer both implant-based and autologous reconstruction, which uses your own tissue to create natural-looking breasts. A combination of non-opioid medication and anesthesia before and during surgery helps prevent and manage any paint that might result from surgery.
Our surgeons are committed to limiting the use of opioids to ease pain after surgery. For this reason, we use special procedures to help relieve pain without opioids. These minimize the need for addictive pain medicines, lowering addiction risk.
Medical therapies
Our team offers a full range of the latest medical therapies, including:
- Biological therapy and immunotherapy:These targeted treatments prompt the immune system to recognize and kill cancer cells.
- Chemotherapy:These drugs stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing.
- Hormone therapy:These therapies slow or stop hormone-sensitive tumor growth. They work by blocking hormone production or by interfering with the effects of hormones on cancer cells.
Radiation therapy
Our radiation therapy team offers a variety of options—many of which are designed to precisely kill cancer cells while limiting damage to healthy tissue. These options include:
- Brachytherapy and interstitial brachytherapy
- Electron beam therapy
- External beam radiation
- Image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT)
- Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)
- Neutron beam therapy
- Stereotactic radiotherapy
- Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT)
Clinical trials
Clinical trials allow you to try potential new options for treating cancer or relieving treatment side effects. All of today’s standard cancer treatments are a result of previous clinical trials.
Support for the whole you
In addition to getting rid of the cancer, we help you cope with the effects of cancer and cancer treatment. Our wide range of support services includes:
Mental and behavioral health care
We offer support for the psychological, emotional, cognitive and behavioral problems common among people with cancer.
Our behavioral healthcare team includes a psychiatrist and psychologist with expertise in treating patients with cancer.
Nurse navigator
Our nurse navigator is a crucial member of our breast cancer care team who is dedicated to helping patients navigate through every stage of treatment. Patients can worry less with the help of our nurse navigators, Lynette Leepack and Mary Ann Lopez, to facilitate their appointments, communicate with multiple physicians and more.
Nutrition counseling
Our dietitians can provide you with guidance on how to appropriately nourish your body before, during and after treatment. Proper nutrition can help you:
- Gain or maintain weight
- Sustain energy and strength
- Reduce side effects and complications of treatment
- Improve response to treatment
Pain management and palliative care
Palliative care can help you better manage post-surgical pain and treatment side effects, such as nausea, fatigue, depression or anxiety.
Practical, financial and emotional support
Social workers can help empower you and your family through all phases of treatment and recovery. Our social worker Tao-Wen Fu can help you:
- Access information that can help you understand your diagnosis and treatment
- Cope with the impact of cancer and cancer treatment on your everyday life and emotional health
- Find and apply to programs that offer practical and financial assistance
Sexual health care after cancer treatment
Breast cancer experts collaborate with the Maimonides Pelvic Floor Center to treat sexual health problems that may result from some cancer treatments.
The Maimonides Pelvic Floor Center is one of the few facilities of its kind in New York City. And it’s the only center Brooklyn to offer seamless, comprehensive care for sexual health problems resulting from cancer treatment.
Award-winning care
- We were the first Brooklyn-based program designated an American College of Radiology (ACR) Center of Excellence in multiple areas of breast cancer screening.
- Our Cancer Center earned the Outstanding Achievement Award for the last two award cycles by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons.
- We’re the only breast center in Brooklyn that is fully accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) and have earned this accreditation for the last 4 award cycles.
- We’re certified by the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®). This certification means that a cancer program has created a team-based culture of quality and excellence that elevates the delivery of cancer care to the highest possible level.
