Breast Cancer Treatment and Support at St. Luke’s
Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women and the most feared. The chance of a woman having invasive breast cancer sometime during their lifetime is one in eight. The Comprehensive Breast Cancer Program at St. Luke’s is helping more women successfully treat the disease and provide essential support every step of the way.
The Comprehensive Breast Cancer Program provides specialized care for benign breast conditions and breast cancer.
From the moment a patient learns of benign breast disease to a possible breast cancer diagnosis, a Breast Health Specialist serves as a patient advocate from diagnosis through treatment and beyond.
A Breast Health Specialist – serves as a resource for the patient/family through diagnosis and treatment. This patient advocate provides individualized information and support, coordinates appointments for consultations, physician visits, biopsy procedures and other needs.
Surgical expertise – by fellowship-trained surgical oncologists Lee Riley, MD, PhD, Darius Desai, MD and Roderick Quiros, MD.
Diagnosis and treatment options for breast cancer, including...
- Breast MRI – (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) available at St. Luke’s Hospital-Bethlehem Campus and St. Luke's Quakertown Hospital uses magnetic fields, radio waves and a powerful computer—not radiation—to distinguish breast cancer from benign tissue in dense breasts.
- Stereotactic Breast Biopsy – During this computer-guided outpatient procedure, small samples of breast tissue are removed from the abnormal area with a hollow needle. The samples are sent to a pathologist for review. The results are available within 48 to 72 hours.
- Partial breast irradiation – Through the surgical implantation of a balloon in the breast, intensive high-dose radiation is delivered to the area of a patient’s breast where the cancer was removed. This technique spares healthy tissue and reduces length of treatment for patients with breast cancer.
- Sentinel lymph node biopsy – Nuclear medicine and surgical procedure involves injecting dye around a tumor to identify a single lymph node at risk for the spread of cancer. SLNB dramatically increases the accuracy of determining whether a tumor has spread.
Promising therapies and trials
Treatment clinical trials for breast cancer are available through the St. Luke’s Cancer Center and through St. Luke’s affiliation with the University of Pennsylvania Cancer Network.
Glossary of Clinical Trial Terms
Patients also have access to...
Call the Comprehensive Breast Care Program’s toll free number at 888-954-3372. Our scheduler will work with you to make the appointment at your earliest convenience. Our staff understands that a breast abnormality diagnosis is frightening, so we will do our very best to schedule your consultation in a timely fashion.
St. Luke’s Breast Health Specialists
From the moment you learn you have benign breast disease to a possible breast cancer diagnosis, you have a partner in your care. A specially-trained Breast Health Specialist is with you every step of the way – supporting you, easing your concerns and helping you heal physically and emotionally.
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Donna Bydlon, RN, OCN
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Debbie Claycomb, RN
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Barbara Davis, RN
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Christine Figler, RN, BSN, OCN
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Susan Folk, RN, BSN
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Michelle Silfies, RN, BSN
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A St. Luke ’s Breast Health Specialist:
- Serves as a contact for the patient/family through diagnosis and treatment
- Provides information and support
- Coordinates appointments for consultations, doctor visits, biopsy procedures and other needs
- Helps with information about surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment
- Introduces patients to the Comprehensive Breast Care Program
St. Luke’s Breast Care Centers are FDA-approved and accredited by the American College of Radiology (ACR).