Breast cancer care at Mayo
People with breast cancer who seek care at Mayo Clinic have access to dedicated breast cancer doctors. These doctors provide expert, personalized care using the latest treatment innovations and technology.
Your Mayo Clinic care team
Breast medicine specialists in the Mayo Clinic Breast Clinic coordinate care for people with breast cancer. These internal medicine doctors who focus solely on caring for people with breast cancer and other breast conditions will meet with you to understand your needs and make recommendations for next steps. Often, your appointments can be coordinated over a matter of days in one facility.
Mayo Clinic offers a truly integrated practice, with a variety of specialists regularly working together and meeting to discuss patient care. This ensures that you receive whole-person care that takes into account all of your needs. Your care team carefully weighs all of your treatment options to create a plan that's personalized for you.
Your breast cancer care team might include:
If you have other health conditions that could be affected by cancer treatment, your team may include additional specialists. For instance, cardiologists from the Cardio-Oncology Clinic may join your team if you have concerns related to your heart. If there are concerns about your kidneys, nephrologists from the Onco-Nephrology Clinic may join your team.
Advanced diagnosis and treatment
Mayo Clinic doctors have access to the latest technology and techniques to diagnose and treat breast cancer, including innovations being investigated in clinical trials Your breast cancer team keeps up on the latest evidence and incorporates this into your treatment plan.
Breast cancer diagnosis begins with high-quality breast imaging that draws from:
- Highly trained staff. Imaging is done by radiologists who specialize in breast imaging, including many who've completed additional, advanced training programs.
- Specialized screening. Experts use supplemental screening techniques to create screening programs for people with dense breast tissue and those with a high risk of breast cancer.
- Latest technology. Advanced imaging techniques include digital mammogram, 3D mammogram (breast tomosynthesis), breast MRI and molecular breast imaging (MBI).
- Ongoing research. Breast imaging researchers are studying new technology for diagnosing breast cancer, including dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI and contrast-enhanced digital mammogram.
The expertise and training of Mayo Clinic breast radiologists combined with advanced technology means your diagnosis can be made quickly and accurately.
Breast cancer treatment innovations are improving the ability to control cancer while reducing the impact of treatment on your daily life. They also may increase your satisfaction with your appearance after surgery. Mayo Clinic achieves this by:
- Offering a full range of treatment options, including surgery, chemotherapy, estrogen blocker therapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy and clinical trials.
- Reducing the risk of heart damage in left-sided breast cancer by using innovative radiation therapy techniques to shape the energy beams around the tumor, such as proton therapy.
- Limiting lymph node removal to reduce the risk of surgery-related lymphedema. Techniques include sentinel lymph node biopsy and neoadjuvant therapy.
- Avoiding the need for a second operation after lumpectomy with intraoperative pathology and frozen section analysis — procedures that involve pathologists analyzing tissue samples during surgery to make sure all the cancer is removed during the operation.
- Condensing treatment to less than two weeks for small, low-risk cancers. Expedited breast cancer treatment combines lumpectomy and accelerated partial breast irradiation.
- Improving your confidence in your appearance after surgery by using innovative techniques. For example, oncoplastic surgery may combine lumpectomy with a breast lift or breast reduction. These techniques can optimize the appearance of your reconstructed breast while maintaining excellent cancer control.
- Using advanced surgical techniques to perform muscle-sparing breast reconstruction techniques to create a new breast using your own tissue.
The range of treatments available at Mayo Clinic means your care team has many options to create a personalized treatment plan that works for you.
Experience you can trust
Mayo Clinic doctors care for thousands of people with breast cancer every year. Research suggests that getting treatment at a medical center that cares for many people with breast cancer is associated with better overall survival than is getting treatment at a medical center that cares for fewer people with breast cancer.
Mayo Clinic doctors specialize in care for:
- All types of breast cancer, including rare types such as angiosarcoma, inflammatory breast cancer, Paget's disease of the breast and phyllodes tumor.
- All stages of breast cancer from precancerous and noninvasive tumors to metastatic cancer.
- People with a high risk of breast cancer based on a strong family history or the presence of genes that increase the risk. Experts in the High Risk Breast Clinic develop personalized risk-management plans. The plans offer options that might include additional screening, preventive medicines and preventive surgeries, such as prophylactic mastectomy and prophylactic oophorectomy.
- Breast cancer survivors. Supportive therapy and continuing care during and after treatment help control side effects and restore function.
Personalized breast cancer treatment
Your breast cancer care team works closely with you to create a personalized treatment plan based on your situation, as well as your needs and goals.
Elements of a personalized care plan may include:
- Reviewing all available treatment options. You'll have the opportunity to meet with a variety of specialists to help you understand all your treatment options. Your appointments will be coordinated so you can make a timely decision about your care.
- Creating convenient treatment schedules that may reduce treatment time and the need for additional travel when possible. Examples include lumpectomy with accelerated partial breast irradiation and mastectomy with immediate breast reconstruction. Mayo Clinic doctors can work with your local doctors to coordinate chemotherapy and other medicines, so you won't always need to travel for care.
- Coordinating supportive services. During and after treatment, you'll be connected with specialists who can help you heal and regain function. These specialists may focus on rehabilitation, integrative medicine, sleep, women's health, nutrition, stress management and cancer survivorship.
- Tailoring treatment based on genetics. Mayo Clinic doctors use precision medicine for breast cancer to help choose treatments based on your genes or your cancer cells.
- Connecting you with others who have had breast cancer. Your care team can connect you with support groups and mentorship programs that pair you with a cancer survivor who can answer questions and provide support.
Expertise and rankings
Mayo Clinic doctors are widely respected for their expertise and experience in diagnosing and treating breast cancer.
Nationally recognized expertise
Outside organizations recognize Mayo Clinic breast cancer specialists through accreditations, grants and rankings:
- Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center meets the strict standards for a U.S. National Cancer Institute comprehensive cancer center. These standards recognize scientific excellence and a multispecialty approach focused on cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
- Mayo Clinic is one of a select group of medical centers in the United States to be recognized as a Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) for breast cancer research, funded by the National Cancer Institute. To earn a highly competitive SPORE grant, institutions must demonstrate a high degree of collaboration between first-rate scientists and clinicians and show excellence in translational research projects.
- Mayo Clinic doctors and researchers participate in research cooperatives, such as the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, which gives people with cancer access to the latest clinical trials.
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, are ranked among the Best Hospitals for cancer by U.S. News & World Report. Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is ranked as the top hospital in Minnesota and Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, is ranked as the top hospital in Arizona.
Locations, travel and lodging
Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.
For more information on visiting Mayo Clinic, choose your location below:
Costs and insurance
Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.
In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.
Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.
Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.