On the Forefront: Giving You Access to the Latest Treatments
What does it mean when we say we are at the forefront of breakthrough breast cancer care? It means we have approaches you won’t find anywhere else in the San Diego community. And a degree of clinical collaboration and cancer-fighting resources that only an academic medical center can provide. We’re pioneering new technologies, new therapies and new approaches, and our patients have first access to them.
After Diagnosis
A breast cancer diagnosis doesn’t have to be devastating. It’s a new day. Breast cancer survival rates have climbed significantly and breast cancer survivors now represent the largest number of cancer survivors in the country. Options for therapy are improving your choices and minimizing the disruption you’ll experience during treatment.
Your Treatment Plan
You will usually first meet with your surgeon and your plastic surgeon, sometimes at the same time, usually during the same visit to the cancer center to discuss your surgery. You’ll discuss what our pathologists have found out about your cancer and review recommendations and options for treatment. Your options and plans for therapy are for you alone, because your disease is unique. Many factors are analyzed during the development of a therapeutic strategy, including:
- Size and location of the lesion.
- Biopsy results (cancer cell composition, stage and constitution).
- Involvement of lymph nodes.
- The type of cancer and how aggressive it is.
It is at this point that surgical options are discussed for lumpectomy or mastectomy and surgery is scheduled, if required. Some patients may qualify for pre-surgical clinical trials that are testing ways to diminish tumors before surgical removal.
Breast Reconstruction Options
This is also the time for many patients to discuss with their plastic surgeon their options for surgical breast reconstruction. Often the reconstructive surgery can be performed at the same time as the cancer surgery. This approach usually provides a better outcome and eliminates a subsequent operation and the additional recovery process. Learn more about breast reconstruction.