This expert is paving the way in breast cancer detection, prevention and treatment.
Breast Surgical Oncologist
Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia
What drew you to focusing on breast diseases? My initial exposure was when a friend’s mom was battling stage 4 breast cancer while we were in medical school. I had never witnessed advanced stages of cancer before. As I progressed through my surgical residency, a friend was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 25, and she reached out to me for guidance. This ignited my quest for knowledge related to breast cancer and women’s health.
You talk about treating “the whole woman.” What does that look like in your practice? Historically, women with breast cancer were treated with only knowledge around preserving their lives, but it took many decades to invest in procedures that were not aggressively disfiguring. Cosmetics were not simultaneously prioritized, and it became evident over time how these deforming surgeries affected women’s psychology and emotional wellbeing. It wasn’t until 1998 that the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act ensured that post-mastectomy reconstruction surgeries were covered by insurance to make this a standard of care. Most surgeons who perform breast cancer care now incorporate reconstruction or hidden scar techniques. As a DO physician, one of the guiding principles of our education is to treat the body as a whole: mind, body and spirit. Breast cancer care is the specialty that to me epitomizes this tenet. In addition to standard of care breast cancer treatment, we aim to provide oncology massages, acupuncture, transportation aid, counseling related to sexual health during/ after cancer treatment, nutrition counseling and survivors’ groups. We also participate in community outreach programs such as free screening days.
How has early detection impacted your work? Early detection is the key to breast cancer care. Breast cancer is generally very treatable with excellent survival prognosis when caught and treated early. However, the more aggressively we screen for breast cancer, the more likely we are to find other non-cancerous things that otherwise may not have affected the patient, which can lead to more frequent biopsies to rule out suspicious findings on imaging. It’s a give and take.
How do you talk to new patients about their options? While every patient is different and their treatment plan is individualized to them, my general approach is to break it down into components, surgery, medicine and radiation. We discuss each “arm” of treatment and give a brief overview: what it is, how long it takes, expected side effects. For surgery specifically, I discuss the two basic options-breast conservation and radiation or mastectomy-as well as lymph node biopsies and reconstruction. Sometimes this takes multiple sessions so the patient feels comfortable and confident in their decision.