Phone Numbers
Directory assistance
(203) 688-4242
Patient information
(203) 688-4177
Adult emergency
(203) 688-2222
Children's emergency
(203) 688-3333
Admitting
(203) 688-2221
Children's admitting
(203) 688-3331
Psychiatric admitting
(203) 688-9907
Mailing address:
Yale-New Haven Hospital
20 York Street
New Haven, CT
06510-3202
Treating Breast Cancer at Yale-New Haven
Yale-New Haven Hospital is committed to helping women fight breast cancer by providing a coordinated approach to the diagnosis and treatment of breast disease. A team of nationally known experts evaluates and treats the entire range of breast problems for women of any age.
Treatment of breast cancer depends on the size and location of the tumor, the stage of the disease, your overall health and other factors. Your physician will discuss all treatment options with you.
Surgery
Breast Conservation Surgery and Radiotherapy
Depending on the nature and extent of the cancer, you may have options
for what type of breast surgery you have. Discuss these options with your
surgeon before surgery.
Surgeons at Yale-New Haven Hospital have participated in national research that showed in many cases, less radical breast cancer procedures have the same survival rates.
Lumpectomy is the removal of a lump in the breast, while preserving the rest of the breast. Lumpectomy may sometimes be performed during a surgical biopsy and is done on an outpatient basis. Sometimes more breast tissue needs to be removed, but not the entire breast. This is a partial mastectomy. The lymph nodes under the arm are often removed and tested for cancer (an axillary dissection). Surgical removal of the tumor (lumpectomy) is followed by five or six weeks of radiation treatments to the whole breast.
Mastectomy
Mastectomy is the surgical removal of part or all of the breast.
- A simple mastectomy is the removal of the breast itself, without removing muscle under the arm, or lymph nodes.
- A modified radical mastectomy is the removal of the breast and lymph nodes.
Breast Reconstruction
In recent years, plastic surgeons at Yale-New Haven Hospital have
made significant progress in breast reconstruction techniques.
If you are to undergo a mastectomy, breast reconstruction may be done at the same time or delayed. Many factors must be considered before reconstruction, such as your age, the size and location of the tumor, other treatments that may be necessary and your overall health.
The decision is a very personal one. Breast reconstruction helps some women cope better with cancer and sexuality. But others choose to have no reconstructive surgery. They may prefer to avoid additional surgery or may be comfortable wearing an external prosthesis. Discuss your options with your physician before a mastectomy.
Types of Breast Reconstruction
Implants
The use of implants was, for many years, the only option for breast reconstruction.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of implants with your physician.
Autologous
New advances in surgical techniques at Yale-New Haven Hospital allow plastic
surgeons to use the body's own tissue to recreate a breast. The most popular
procedure, called the TRAM (transverse rectus abdominous muscle) Flap,
uses tissue taken from a woman's abdomen. A portion of the tissue remains
attached, giving it its own blood supply. There is no chance of rejection
of the tissue because it is your own, and the mound can be shaped to match
the other breast. However, the surgery is long and complicated, and it requires
several weeks of recovery.
Chemotherapy
Hormone Therapy
Female hormones like estrogen can fuel the growth of breast cancers. Sometimes,
physicians recommend patients take hormones that work against the action
of estrogen. One such agent is tamoxifen.
Tamoxifen
Tamoxifen is an anti-estrogen hormone that is sometimes used to treat
breast cancer, or to prevent the occurrence or recurrence of breast cancer.
Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of tamoxifen. For more information, visit the National Cancer Institute's Tamoxifen page.
Learn more
For more information about treatment options for breast cancer, visit the YNHH Health Library.
Cancer Services home page
Online
physician referral service
Last revised: Jan. 4, 2008 (jy)
