New Approach to Breast Cancer
Posted on 7/8/2010
The region’s first multidisciplinary Breast Cancer Clinic offers a new approach to breast cancer treatment. |
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Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women, but when it happens, it is an unexpected and often overwhelming event. To better serve the needs of patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer, Mid Dakota Clinic and St. Alexius Medical Center have come together with experts from the Bismarck Cancer Center to establish a multidisciplinary Breast Cancer Clinic.
Most often, breast cancer is diagnosed by a general surgeon who arranges for consults with various other medical specialists. For patients, the next steps can be overwhelming and the time in between consults can seem lengthy. The purpose of the clinic is to reduce the anxiety experienced by patients and their families by streamlining consultations with general surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and plastic surgeons. By working collaboratively in one location, a breast cancer patient is assured of a timely and multidisciplinary treatment plan. “A multidisciplinary approach is vital for cancer care, especially breast cancer,”says Dr. Derek Kane, Mid Dakota Clinic general surgeon. “This environment allows patients and their families to see all of the physicians and care providers involved in their breast cancer care on the same day and leave with a definitive treatment plan.”
Patients who do not wish to utilize the service offered through the Breast Cancer Clinic, or those who are unable to attend the clinic, can be assured that their general surgeon will continue to arrange for consults as needed and strive to reduce wait times.
Breast Cancer Statistics
In 2006*, 191,410 women were diagnosed with breast cancer, and 40,820 women died from the disease. Aside from non-melanoma skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women of all races and ethnicities**. Roughly 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
* Source United States Cancer Statistics (USCS)
**taken from CDC