Breast Cancer

Treatment in Arizona

All treatment options described on these pages are available in Arizona. Patients at Mayo Clinic meet with members of their health-care team to find the best and most appropriate approach for their care. Before recommending a treatment plan, physicians will review the patient's preferences, laboratory tests, X-rays, medical and family histories and any prior treatments for cancer.

The Breast Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Arizona coordinates state-of-the-art services, research studies and education to provide a highly personalized evaluation and treatment plan.

The mission of the Breast Cancer Treatment Team is to optimize the treatment of breast cancer to improve survival and decrease side effects for patients.

The number and percentage of women with breast cancer who survive has been increasing steadily during the past 20 years. Improved survival rates are due in large part to the multidisciplinary approach to care provided by specialists working together as a team to help patients.

The Multidisciplinary Breast Cancer Treatment Team at Mayo Clinic combines the efforts of its specialists to:

• more accurately diagnose breast cancer with mammography, biopsy, and pathologist evaluation
• perform breast and axillary surgery with more precise and less invasive techniques
• provide safer and more effective radiation treatments
• administer improved medical treatment, including chemotherapy and hormone-blocking therapy

Treatment for breast cancer is improved through Mayo research leading to the discovery of:

• more effective and safer hormone-blocking treatments
• more effective and safer chemotherapy treatments
• more effective methods to control the side effects of the cancer treatments

Research by our Breast Cancer Multidisciplinary Team is continuing to help find more effective, safer treatments that will improve quality of life and survival of women with breast cancer. Research is performed in the laboratory and promising discoveries are evaluated through clinical trials, which are available to all patients. These clinical trials provide patients with clinically promising, cutting-edge therapies.

Mayo Clinic Cancer Center is proud to have earned the comprehensive cancer center designation from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which recognizes our commitment to clinical excellence in treating patients as well as the strength of our research programs. Mayo Clinic also leads the North Central Cancer Treatment Group, which performs clinical cancer research at Mayo and several non-Mayo-related sites.

Treatment Team

Cancer specialists in Hematology/Oncology coordinate the care of breast cancer patients, working closely with specialists in internal medicine, radiology, oncology, radiation oncology, pathology and general surgery, among others.

If surgery is an option, a surgical oncologist will be consulted. At Mayo Clinic, surgical oncologists are available to provide specialized, comprehensive care to breast cancer patients. If radiation therapy is considered, a radiation oncologist will be consulted. A medical oncologist discusses the potential use of hormone therapy and chemotherapy with patients.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy is an important modality of treatment for breast cancer. High energy X-ray is used to kill cancer cells and reduce the risk of cancer recurrence. It is commonly used after surgery. In patients who have lumpectomy, postoperative breast irradiation is considered standard treatment. After mastectomy, postoperative irradiation to the chest wall and/or lymph node areas may be recommended in some patients if the cancer is very large or if the cancer has spread to multiple lymph nodes in the axilla. Each patient will be evaluated by a radiation oncologist to determine whether radiation therapy is needed.

Patients with early stage breast cancer (those whose tumor is 5 cm or smaller and have no lymph node involvement) may particpate in a study using intraoperative radiation therapy and external beam radiation therapy. A single radiation treatment is administered to the surgical site after the tumor is removed but before the wound is closed. After adequate wound healing, which usually takes 3 to 6 weeks, 16 daily treatments of external beam irradiation are given to the breast. This study reduces the total treatment time from 6 weeks for the standard radiation therapy to 3 weeks and 1 day. Mayo Clinic is the only medical center in the southwestern United States with a mobile linear accelerator in the operating suite dedicated for intraoperative radiation therapy.

Appointments

For appointments or more information, call the Central Appointment Office at (800) 446-2279 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mountain time Monday through Friday, or complete an online appointment request form.