Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Program

Comprehensive Care from Experienced Oncologists

Tremendous advances in medical technology continue to give us more sophisticated tools to detect and treat breast cancer. We offer women the best of both worlds: leading-edge treatment, sophisticated equipment, and a high-powered team on par with a university medical center, combined with the warm, personalized care associated with the best of community hospitals.

We provide the full spectrum of breast cancer care, from advanced diagnostics to state-of-the-art treatment to support and survivorship. Our patients have access to a full range of advanced treatments and research trials, including radiation, chemotherapy, hormonal treatments, and targeted therapies that block a tumor’s growth and progression.

Personalized Care

Our care team is committed to providing individualized treatment and personalized ongoing support. We value our patients’ input and perspective and are attentive to their physical and psychosocial well-being. We offer the following:

  • Excellent early detection rates thanks to digital mammography with computer-aided detection (CAD) and expert pathologists with exceptional expertise in breast cancer.
  • Services that are usually only available at academic centers, such as fine-needle aspiration biopsy (cytopathology).
  • A patient navigator who serves as an educator, advocate, and guide and helps each woman weigh her options to make informed decisions.
  • State-of-the-art medical and surgical care, with an emphasis on minimally invasive techniques, whenever possible.
  • Leading-edge technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.
  • A highly-trained medical team with experience in traditional and integrative treatments
  • Top-notch reconstructive surgery, including total skin-sparing mastectomy. Currently, MarinHealth℠ is enrolling mastectomy patients into a clinical study designed to evaluate a new tissue expansion method for those who choose to undergo mastectomy and breast reconstruction.
  • A weekly Breast Tumor Conference during which navigators, social workers, therapists, nutritionists, pathologists, surgeons, radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, and reconstructive surgeons convene to collaborate on multidisciplinary evaluations and discuss each breast cancer patient's case before treatment even begins; the patient's primary care physician may attend as well.
  • The opportunity to participate in a number of national clinical trials that evaluate new and promising treatments; many of these trials had only been available at universities, but we are offering them close to home.

Treatment Options

Before treatment begins, the patient and care team confer to determine the best approach. Our multidisciplinary team reviews treatment goals and options to make sure the treatment plan reflects the best science as well as the patient’s values and wishes. The patient navigators can help patients sort through the information and arrive at the decision that makes the most sense for them. Learn more about treatment options, including surgery, radiation oncology, and medical oncology.

Support

We understand how emotionally challenging breast cancer is for patients and their families. That’s why, if a patient’s mammogram shows a suspicious abnormality, we immediately pair her with a patient navigator who can explain why there is a concern and go over the results of further testing with the patient. We also offer a full spectrum of support services and educational resources like our Health Resource Center, where patients can borrow books and videos, and our Integrative Wellness Center.