Comprehensive Breast Care
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in America. If it happens to you, you want to be sure you receive care that meets your medical needs and personal preferences. At NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester (formerly Lawrence Hospital), we customize a plan of treatment just for you. We are deeply committed to providing you with comprehensive, personal care — from screening and diagnosis to treatment and follow-up.
National Accreditation
Our Breast Program has been granted full accreditation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) of the American College of Surgeons. NAPBC accreditation is given only to centers that have voluntarily committed to provide the highest level of multidisciplinary, quality breast care and have successfully completed a rigorous evaluation and ongoing review of their performance.
A Team of Experts
Our clinicians are accomplished, caring specialists who have a long-standing commitment to women's health. Starting with the decision to get screened for breast cancer and continuing throughout evaluation and care, our care team treats patients with all stages of breast cancer. If you learn you have breast cancer, you may need surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, or a combination of these treatments. Our specialists include breast and plastic surgeons, medical and, radiation oncologists, pathologists, radiologists, oncology nurses, a genetic counselor, psychosocial support specialists, and other professionals with experience caring for people with breast cancer. Our team-based approach is supported by a collaborative relationship with the National Cancer Institute-designated Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, enabling us to share our input about how to treat each patient and offering patients access to promising clinical trials.
Breast Cancer Screening
Our Cancer and Breast Screening Navigators will work closely with you and your primary care provider to share information about your screening options and arrange for the appropriate tests.
At The Carol H. Taylor Breast Health Center, we offer mammography and other imaging methods to screen women for breast cancer and detect it in its earliest, most curable stages. This center has been designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology (ACR).
Genetic Counseling and Testing
Genetic counselors at NYP/Columbia can meet with you if you have an increased risk of breast cancer due to a personal or family medical history to provide guidance about screening and genetic testing. If you choose to have genetic testing, we can perform the tests for you.
Expert Breast Surgery
We offer a range of breast surgical procedures, including breast conservation, sentinel node biopsy, and mastectomies (including nipple-sparing procedures). Our oncoplastic approach is designed to give women excellent cosmetic results while effectively removing the cancer.
Learn more about breast surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester
Personalized Breast Reconstruction
If you are having a mastectomy and wish to have reconstruction, we offer procedures that can be performed at the time of your cancer surgery or at another time.
Learn more about breast reconstruction at NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester
State-of-the-Art Radiation Therapy
At NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester, we offer intensity-modulated radiation therapy for breast cancer, which aims radiation beams of different intensities from many different angles to precisely treat your tumor. Some women are candidates for hypofractionated radiation therapy, which delivers higher doses of radiation over a shorter total period of time than conventional radiation therapy (for example, three weeks versus six). Our team includes experts who tailor radiation therapy to target breast cancer as directly as possible, sparing nearby healthy tissues (including the heart and lungs) and reducing your risk of side effects.
Medical Treatments for Breast Cancer
The advent of personalized medicine is changing how we care for patients by enabling us to use targeted treatment strategies based on a tumor's specific molecular characteristics. This approach also helps you avoid side effects from treatments that may be less-than-optimal for your tumor type. Our disease-focused medical oncologists have decades of experience and access not only to conventional chemotherapy for breast cancer, but also to cutting-edge therapies customized to the biology of your tumor. You can receive your treatment in our comfortable and modern Infusion Center.
Access to Clinical Trials
NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester physicians have access to the latest clinical trials related to reducing the risk of breast cancer, studying quality of life, and evaluating new treatments, including those for women with metastatic breast cancer. Through our relationship with the cancer team at Columbia University, our academic partner, you may have the opportunity to participate in a clinical trial.
Supportive Care
We understand how a diagnosis of breast cancer can affect your life and the lives of your loved ones, so we offer patient navigation to coordinate your care, and psychosocial support to address your nonmedical needs and ease your experience with this disease.
Planning for Your Future
Cancer care does not end with treatment, so NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester has established a Cancer Survivorship Clinical Program. Our survivorship team will serve as a bridge between your oncology and primary care teams by providing a survivorship care plan — a road map for your future health care. We also work closely with other NewYork-Presbyterian specialists in gynecology, cardiology, bone health, and rehabilitation and physical therapy to address your other medical needs. We offer monthly breast cancer support groups in addition to a monthly support group for cancer survivors, with special programming and events throughout the year.