Saul and Joyce Brandman Breast Center - A Project of Women's Guild
Dedicated to Breast Health
Cedars-Sinai's Saul and Joyce Brandman Breast Center - A Project of Women's Guild and the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute is dedicated to breast health. We provide prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all types of breast-related disease. Patient education, cancer screening, genetic risk assessment and risk reduction are key components of our program in addition to oncologic and plastic reconstructive surgery. These services are available in one convenient location.
Breast cancer survivors helped design the breast center with particular attention to the comfort and needs of our patients. We use advanced treatments and state-of-the-art technology to help insure our patients get high quality care.
Optimal treatment may involve multiple specialists and techniques so breast cancer patients have access to Care Coordinators. This extra help is an important part of the support the Breast Center offers its patients.
At the Breast Center, patients receive comprehensive care from a team of expert breast surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, plastic surgeons, radiologists, geneticists, nutritionists, women's health physicians, alternative medicine physicians, nurses, and physical therapists. During weekly multidisciplinary Case Review meetings, patient cases are discussed from multiple perspectives so that patients are provided with a wide range of treatment options. This review facilitates ongoing communication among your physicians and specialists to track your progress and help lead to a successful recovery. Our specialists also work on clinical trials to develop new treatment options for addressing breast cancer and many of our patients take part in clinical trials that test new options for diagnosis and treatment.
If you have a family history of breast cancer or if you are concerned that your risk of developing breast cancer may be increased, you can participate in the Wasserman Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Program. The program provides comprehensive risk assessment services (including genetic testing) as well as medical and surgical management recommendations that are tailored to a particular individual's level of risk.
Our physicians are highly experienced at treating common as well as rare and complex cases of breast cancer. They specialize in minimally invasive surgical procedures such as ultrasound and stereotactic core needle biopsy, breast conserving surgeries and nipple and skin sparing mastectomies with immediate reconstruction.
Measuring Quality of Care at the Saul and Joyce Brandman Breast Center - A Project of Women's Guild
To continually improve upon the care given to breast cancer patients, a number of factors that lead to high quality of care are monitored. These include:
- The volume of procedures done. Studies have demonstrated that hospitals that regularly perform a particular procedure tend to have better outcomes that those that perform the procedure less frequently.
- Volume of breast conserving surgical procedures. The larger the portion of breast removed during surgery increases the likelihood that there will be a noticeable change in the shape of the breast afterward. Breast conserving surgical procedures minimize the chance of this happening.
- The percentage of procedures done on an outpatient basis. Procedures done on an outpatient basis tend to be minimally invasive. Outpatient procedures are usually easier to recover from and present less disruption to a patient's daily activities.
In 2008, Cedars-Sinai performed 2,344 breast surgical procedures, of which 83% were done on an outpatient basis. The option of having breast conserving surgery is reviewed with patients as part of the treatment decision process.
| Volume of Selected Outpatient Breast Procedures | Saul & Joyce Brandman Breast Center, 2008 |
| Incisional breast biopsy: A type of biopsy where a sample of a lump or suspicious area is taken to check under a microscope for cancer. This type of biopsy is done when the lump is so large that removal of the breast would be required or removal of the lump would cause a cosmetic deformity. | 45 |
| Excisional breast biopsy: A type of biopsy where all of a lump or suspicious area is removed to be checked under a microscope for cancer. In some cases, no further surgery may be needed. | 267 |
| Biopsy with needle localization: A type of biopsy that is done after using a process to mark the site of the suspicious area. Aided by mammography or ultrasound images, a radiologist inserts a needle at the site. A small amount of blue dye is injected into the site through the needle. Sometimes the needle is replaced by a wire. Once the area has been marked, the patient goes into surgery for the biopsy. | 314 |
In the 2011-12 U.S. News and World Report Best Hospitals issue, Cedars-Sinai once again ranked among America's best in Cancer.
