Breast Cancer Treatment
The Gillette Center for Breast Cancer combines the best in clinical care, research and support services to provide comprehensive, compassionate care for patients with breast cancer.
Our Approach
Multidisciplinary Patient CarePatients are usually seen within a week, and each patient works with a team of breast cancer specialists, who coordinates their care through all phases of treatment. Your care team will include:
- Surgical oncologists, as well as plastic surgeons specializing in breast reconstruction
- Radiation oncologists and medical oncologists
- Radiologists and pathologists
- Nurse practitioners and oncology nurses
- Social workers and caseworkers, all of whom care exclusively for patients with breast cancer
Expertise in Diagnosing and Staging Breast Cancers We work in tandem with the Cancer Center's Avon Foundation Comprehensive Breast Evaluation Center, a leader in screening for and diagnosing breast cancer. Our radiologists and pathologists are highly specialized in the evaluation of breast cancers.
A quick and accurate diagnosis and staging of cancer is key to planning the right course of treatment. We use a full range of sophisticated imaging and surgical procedures to determine the location and stage of each cancer.
Among the imaging techniques offered here are:
- Mammography
- Ultrasound
- Digital tomosynthesis, which produces a 3-D image of the breast tissue
- Needle biopsy
- Stereotactic needle biopsy
- Incisional biopsy
- Excisional biopsy
Comprehensive Treatment OptionsTreatment for breast cancer may involve surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or some combination of all three. Our integrated approach offers patients a unique combination of multidisciplinary care and the most up-to-date medical, surgical, and radiation therapies. We strive for the least invasive treatment, helping to spare as much breast tissue as possible.
Our cutting edge medical therapies include:
- The most advanced chemotherapy protocols available
- Preoperative chemotherapy and chemotherapy during surgery
- Hormone therapy to prevent recurrence
- Partial breast radiation
- Proactive intervention to prevent or reduce arm lymphedema
- Genetics counseling and assessment to determine a woman's risk for breast cancer
- Specialized center for the treatment of inflammatory breast cancer
About This Program We offer a coordinated team approach to treat all types of breast cancer as well as a rigorous research program to develop and study new, more effective therapies. We offer advanced treatment for:
- Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)
- Invasive breast cancer
- Inflammatory breast cancer
- Recurring breast cancer
- Male breast cancer
- Reconstructive breast surgery
- Genetic testing and prophylactic surgery for high risk women
We also offer a wide range of free educational programs and support services designed to address the physical, psychological and spiritual needs of patients and their families.
Innovative Approaches to Cancer TreatmentOur program is a national leader in the treatment of breast cancer. Our physicians and researchers are leading the way in developing procedures and therapies that reduce the side effects of breast cancer treatment. They are committed to providing treatment that is as minimally invasive as possible and that saves as much breast tissue as possible.
Promising Better TherapiesPatients in our program are offered a multi-faceted individualized approach to their care, including:
- Sophisticated and timely diagnostics
- A personalized treatment plan created and coordinated by a team of breast cancer specialists Access to the most advanced surgical, radiation, and medical therapies available
- Specialized nursing care and support services for patients and families
- The effectiveness of proton beam therapy, a precise form of radiation that eliminates tumors while minimizing damage to healthy surrounding tissue, in the treatment of breast cancer
- Ways to minimize arm lymphedema
- The use of the targeted therapy drug Tykerb for HER2-positive breast cancer
- Gene-expression profiling to determine which breast cancers are more likely to recur
- Novel techniques to spare the nipple during mastectomy
- Techniques to reduce the amount of radiation reaching the heart during radiation therapy to the left breast
- Drugs to reduce recurrence
55 Fruit Street
Boston, MA 02114
Phone: 877-789-6100All patients who are eligible are offered the opportunity to participate in a clinical trial. We are a leading center nationwide in investigating new treatments for breast cancer. Among the treatment approaches being studied here are:
• The effectiveness of proton beam therapy in the treatment of breast cancer
• The use of the targeted therapy drug Tykerb for HER2-positive breast cancer
• Gene-expression profiling to determine which breast cancers are more likely to recur
• Novel techniques to spare the nipple during mastectomy
• Techniques to reduce the amount of radiation reaching the heart during radiation therapy to the left breast
• Drugs to reduce recurrence
Excellence in Surgical Care
Our approach is to be as minimally invasive as possible, both in diagnosing and treating breast cancer, and to spare as much breast tissue as possible. Our surgeons are specialists in treating these cancers and we perform hundreds of these surgical procedures a year.
Studies have shown that patients do better when they are treated in a high-volume facility by specialists with expertise in treating their specific type of cancer.
- Among the surgical approaches offered here are:Sentinel lymph node mapping, the removal of one lymph node to determine whether the cancer has spread
- Axillary lymph node dissection, the removal of all the lymph nodes in the arm pit to determine if the cancer has metastasized
- Lumpectomy, a minimally invasive procedure that removes only the cancerous tissue
- Mastectomy, the surgical removal of the entire breast tissue
- Prophylactic mastectomy, the surgical removal of one or both breasts to prevent or reduce the risk of breast cancer in women who are at high risk of developing breast cancer
- Breast reconstruction, plastic surgery to reconstruct the breast following surgery
We are also in the forefront of studies to determine when and how proton beam therapy is most appropriate in the treatment of breast cancer. This approach delivers a precise beam of radiation directly to diseased tissue while minimizing damage to healthy surrounding tissue.
In addition, we are also using a four-week radiation regimen to the whole breast, as opposed to six weeks, for women with early invasive breast cance treated with lumpectomy who are unable to undergo the longer treatment plan.
Among the radiation therapies offered here are:
- External beam radiation, which delivers a high-energy beam of radiation directly to the diseased area.
- Partial breast irradiation, using an external beam to focus radiation only on the area where the tumor was. This course of radiation may be completed in only one week (twice per day)
55 Fruit Street
Boston, MA 02114
1-877-789-6100
HOPES Program
The HOPES Program provides free wellness services, plus education and support workshops for patients with cancer, their families and their friends. Our services focus on helping you take care of your whole self – mind, body and spirit.
Maxwell V. Blum Cancer Resource Room
The Maxwell V. Blum Cancer Resource Room at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center provides cancer patients and their families with information and resources for living with cancer.
Illuminations Program
Illuminations is a rotating art exhibit displayed in the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. The program aims to enlighten and encourage patients and their loved ones by enhancing our environment of care.
Cancer Center
55 Fruit StreetBoston, MA 02114
Phone: 617-726-5130
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Our approach to patient care unites cancer specialists across the hospital to create a personalized treatment plan for each patient, ensuring the best possible outcomes.
