appointments & services
BOUTIQUE SERVICES
In addition, Smilow o ers a state-of-the-art Survivorship Clinic that employs a multidisciplinary team approach designed to optimally address patients’ needs after treatment ends. Our team extends to a myriad of essential services including:
• social work
• pastoral support
• dietary and nutritional aid • physical therapy • integrative medicine • pain management • psychosocial support
While medical specialists are planning and implementing the best treatment for your clinical needs, the Cingari Family Boutique at Smilow Cancer Hospital o ers solutions for those individuals undergoing cancer treatment. Specially trained sta provide advice and attention to help our clients feel their best while managing the side e ects of treatment. The Boutique provides post-surgical mastectomy solutions and wig o erings for patients undergoing active chemotherapy treatment.
HOW TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT
The Center for Breast Cancer at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center provides patients with convenient appointments, rapid diagnosis and treatment, and access to the most up-to-date technology and research protocols. Most importantly, patients receive personal, friendly, confidential care that is designed to meet the needs of the whole patient, not just the disease. When you call, a patient intake coordinator will help to arrange your appointments so that you will see all of the specialists needed during an initial visit.
For Jayanti’s story: m.yale.edu/jayanti-story
For all the admiring comments I received about my strength, patience, perseverance, and overall resilience, credit goes to my support team, both at home (family and friends) and at Smilow Cancer Hospital. Empathy needs to ow from the patient to the support team and from the support team to patient –Jayanti Jayanti
p: 203-200-2328 yalecancercenter.org smilowcancerhospital.org
Joshalyn
For Joshalyn’s story: m.yale.edu/joshalyn-story
The Center for Breast Cancer at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center provides coordinated, state-of-the-art care for patients with benign and malignant diseases of the breast. For patients diagnosed with breast cancer, we o er dedicated care, innovative treatment options, and cutting-edge research, coupled with the recognized excellence of a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. A great deal of progress in the detection and treatment of breast cancer has been made in recent years, and our physicians are on the leading edge of finding even better solutions.
Our Center is accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, and was the first National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Northeast to hold this designation. Patients with a diagnosis of breast cancer are cared for by a multidisciplinary team of physician specialists, including radiologists, breast surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, and plastic surgeons.
At Smilow Cancer Hospital, patients benefit from the expertise of a team approach to cancer care. Our multidisciplinary team meets weekly in our Tumor Board Conference to review cases and provide patients with the optimal care plan, ideally suited to them. Decisions are based on the most up-to-date research to ensure that all patients receive the best available breast cancer treatment. In addition, nurses, social workers, physical therapists, psychologists, and other health professionals, are key members of the team, providing the necessary supportive care throughout the breast cancer journey. Our goal is to ensure the highest standard of patient- and family-centered multidisciplinary care that takes care of the whole patient. We coordinate your care across our 16 network locations to provide you high-quality care, close to home. Multispecialty breast cancer care is currently available at Smilow Cancer Hospital in Derby, Guilford, and North Haven.
BREAST IMAGING
The Breast Imaging Center performs over 60,000 breast examinations each year. Our centers o er both screening and diagnostic mammography, breast ultrasound, and breast MRI. We o er numerous breast procedures including:
• ultrasound guided biopsy
• stereotactic or tomosynthesis guided biopsy
• MRI biopsy
• wire and tag localizations (a procedure done before surgery or biopsy to mark the area of concern in the breast)
All our centers utilize 3D/tomosynthesis technology when performing mammography. This allows our radiologists to look very closely at the breast tissue, often minimizing the need for repeat mammograms. Our radiologists are dedicated specialists in breast imaging interpretation and recognized as leaders in their field, with involvement in teaching both on a local and a national level. In addition to our Center for Breast Cancer in New Haven, we have convenient outpatient facilities located in Derby, Guilford, and North Haven. Our mobile mammography van is the first in the state to o er both screening mammography and ultrasound and travels throughout Connecticut reaching patients in our communities.
BREAST AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY
Our dedicated breast surgeons have the expertise and knowledge to understand the complexities of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. The surgeons at our Center for Breast Cancer perform breast surgery exclusively and are nationally known as being leaders in their field. Our breast surgeons are experienced in cutting-edge modern techniques, such as skin-sparing and nipple-sparing mastectomy. Our dedicated breast cancer surgeons work together with our exceptional plastic surgeons to o er patients a variety of options for breast reconstruction.
Reconstructive techniques include:
• implant- based reconstruction
• oncoplastic surgery: breast reduction and symmetry surgery at the time of your operation
• autologous tissue reconstruction
It may sound scary taking part in a clinical trial, but I would not be here today if it were not for the trial and the women before me that took part.
I am proud to say that I am part of this story. If you have to face cancer, you might as well try and help others in the process.
-Joshalyn
• lymphatic venous bypass to prevent lymphedema
• nipple and nerve-sparing mastectomy
Careful attention is given to achieve the best possible cosmetic result and quality of life, without compromising the possibility for a cure. In each case, the approach is customized to best fit each patient’s lifestyle and goals.
MEDICAL ONCOLOGY
Many patients with breast cancer also need therapy such as chemotherapy and/or endocrine therapy. Our team of nationally renowned experts in breast medical oncology utilize both standard chemotherapies and new ‘biological’ or ‘targeted’ therapies to attack the cancer specifically, while minimizing harm to normal tissues.
Our medical oncologists are nationally recognized for their contributions to breast cancer research. For example, investigators at Yale helped to elucidate the biology of a cellular receptor called HER2. As a result, our medical oncologists have been particularly successful in developing treatment strategies for HER2-positive breast cancer and have extended this expertise to provide e ective therapies for triple-negative/basal-like and hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. They continue to study innovative new treatments, and patients at Smilow Cancer Hospital have the opportunity to receive such novel therapies through exciting clinical trials, many of which are not available elsewhere in Connecticut.
RADIATION ONCOLOGY
Radiation therapy is a highly e ective and integral part of treatment for many patients with breast cancer today. Smilow Radiation Oncology has the most advanced technology in the region, conveniently located throughout the state of Connecticut in New Haven, Hamden, Guilford, Waterford, Trumbull, and Greenwich. The equipment at each site is state-of-the-art, and quality assurance is performed on each individual patient to ensure consistent, highlevel care across all of our facilities. Our physicians practice academic based medicine and collaborate with other specialists to ensure optimal, patient-centered care.
PATHOLOGY
One of the most important elements of modern breast cancer treatment is the pathologic evaluation of tumors, and increasingly, the ability to profile tumors allows patients access to novel treatments that may be most e ective for treating their particular type of tumor. Yale is fortunate to have one of the finest pathology departments in the country, complete with a highlevel tumor profiling service. Pathologists play a crucial role in our Tumor Board conferences. They carefully review the characteristics of each patient’s tumor, and help the clinical team to define optimal treatment strategies best suited to the individual patient.
GENETIC COUNSELING AND TESTING
Genetic counseling and testing are an important tool in guiding treatment and surveillance for patients with breast cancer and their family members. Patients with early-onset breast
cancer (defined as those diagnosed at age 50 or younger), triple-negative or bilateral breast cancer, or of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry are candidates for genetic testing. Patients with breast cancer are also eligible if there is a hereditary cancer syndrome in the family or a family history of cancer including female breast, male breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate. Individuals considered to be at increased risk of breast cancer include those with:
• Strong family history of breast cancer
• Genetic predisposition, such as an inherited mutation in BRCA1/2 or other breast cancer-related genes
• Breast biopsy with atypical cells (atypical hyperplasia or lobular carcinoma in situ)
• Chest radiation as treatment for cancer under the age of 30
CLINICAL TRIALS
We are committed to not only providing you with the very best care today, but o er participation in clinical studies that may define the standard of care of tomorrow. Our doctors and nurses work hand-in-hand with Yale Cancer Center scientists to find the answers to cancer– cracking genomic codes that will lead to better therapies, less toxicity, and one
