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Breast Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia

The Breast Center is an integral component of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, which is designated a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. The Breast Center offers a multidisciplinary approach to breast health, providing patients easy access to board-certified specialists in the diagnosis and treatment of all forms of breast disease.

Through the Center, breast surgeons, plastic and reconstructive surgeons, diagnostic radiologists, medical oncologists, pathologists, radiation oncologists, gynecologists, geneticists, psychiatrists, physical therapists, and nutritionists, as well as physicians' assistants and specialized nurses, come together to develop and administer comprehensive therapeutic programs. These clinicians are accomplished, caring specialists who have a long-standing commitment to women's health. And because breast and ovarian cancers can be related, and because some patients can benefit from shared research in areas such as hormone biology, the breast cancer and gynecological cancer teams at New-York Presbyterian/Columbia work together closely.

Diagnostic Innovations

The Breast Center offers the latest diagnostic testing for breast cancer, including breast imaging, cancer genetics, and ductal lavage. The breast imaging techniques employed include mammography, ultrasonography, digital mammography, stereotactic core biopsy, ductograms, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET). Ductal lavage is a new risk-stratification method for patients who are at high risk of developing breast cancer. Tumors that begin in the milk duct are not typically discovered until they can be seen on a mammogram or sonogram. With ductal lavage, fluid is painlessly drawn from the milk ducts and examined by the pathologists for abnormal or suspicious cells. Depending on the results of this analysis, a patient might be put on a high-risk monitoring program. The cancer genetics program offers risk assessment, as well as counseling and testing for BRCA1, BRCA2, and other genes that predispose women to breast cancer

At NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, physicians also are involved in the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Working Group, a national group that is preparing guidelines for risk evaluation methodologies. Quantifying risk allows patients to make informed decisions. The Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health has an ongoing project with NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia to examine the interaction between breast cancer risk and environment. In conjunction with geneticists, the project examines survival of patients who have positive mutations for breast cancer.

NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia also coordinates cancer outreach and education programs at both its West 168th Street and its Center for Women's Health at East 60th Street. The Center for Women's Health conducts a corporate outreach program for breast cancer screening, among other initiatives. In addition, the Breast Cancer Screening Partnership located in the Herbert Irving Pavilion offers education and outreach programs. Here, breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening is free of charge to women over age 40 who are uninsured or whose health insurance does not cover screening.

An office of the Metropolitan New York Registry is located within the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. The registry is part of an international program that serves as a resource for cancer research. Families with histories of breast or ovarian cancer are invited to join and participate in the research studies. Participants are kept informed of new findings through newsletters and seminars.

Therapeutic Excellence

Educational and Support Resources

The Breast Center offers One-to-One, a volunteer peer support program that serves women with breast or ovarian cancer and their families.

The Department of Social Work conducts a multidisciplinary cancer care program that provides a continuum of psychosocial services for patients undergoing chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and/or surgery. In conjunction with the Women at Risk (WAR) Program and the SHARE (Self-Help for Women With Breast or Ovarian Cancer) Program, the Department of Social Work also organizes presentations and peer support through its Breast Cancer Support Groups, in which women, family members, and caregivers can discuss their concerns in confidential sessions.