Select a Program at Montefiore Medical Center CLINICAL SERVICES • Allergy and Immunology • Centers of Excellence • Chemical Dependency Program • Clinical Diabetes Center • Cough Center • Critical Care Medicine • Dentistry • Dermatology • Emergency Medicine • Endocrinology • Family and Social Medicine • Gastroenterology • Geriatrics • Headache Center • Hematology • Hyperbaric Medicine • In It Together Fund • Infectious Diseases • Institute for Human Communication • Kidney Transplant Program • Montefiore Home Care • Montefiore Institute for Reproductive Medicine • Montefiore Medical Group • Montefiore Medical Specialists • Montefiore-Einstein Liver Center • Nephrology • Neurology • Neuromuscular Disease • Nuclear Medicine • Pathology • Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences • Pulmonary Medicine • Radiology • Rehabilitation Medicine • Rheumatology • Sleep-Wake Disorders Center • Substance Abuse Treatment Program • Urgent Care Services • Urology MONTEFIORE-EINSTEIN HEART CENTER • Cardiac Rehabilitation and Recovery • Cardiology • Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery • Contact the Heart Center • Heart Center Video Gallery • Innovations & Advancements MONTEFIORE-EINSTEIN CENTER FOR CANCER CARE • Breast Cancer Program • Clinical Trials • Colorectal Cancer • Conditions We Treat • Endocrine and Neuroendocrine Tumor Program • Gastrointestinal Oncology • Give to the Montefiore-Einstein Center for Cancer Care • Gynecologic Oncology • Head & Neck Cancer Program • Hepatobiliary Oncology (Liver Cancer) • Leukemia and Lymphoma • Lung Cancer • Our Locations • Radiation Oncology • Robotic Prostate Surgery • Sarcoma and Connective Tissue Oncology Program • Support Services • Surgical Oncology • Translational Research • Urological Oncology • What's New THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL AT MONTEFIORE WOMEN'S HEALTH AT MONTEFIORE • Childbirth • Family Planning & Birth Control • Fibroid Center • Genetic Counseling • Group Prenatal Care • High-Risk Pregnancy • Infertility - Reproductive Medicine • Menopause & Aging • Obstetrics & Gynecology • Preconceptual Counseling & Testing • Reproductive Genetics & Prenatal Genetic Testing • Urogynecology SURGERY AT MONTEFIORE • Breast Surgery • Center for Weight Reduction Surgery • Montefiore Institute for Minimally Invasive Surgery • Neurological Surgery • Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences • Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery • Orthopaedic Surgery • Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery • Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery • Surgery • Transplant Center • Urologic Surgery • Vascular Disease Management • Weight Reduction (Bariatric) Surgery CLINICAL DEPARTMENTS FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS • Department of Anesthesiology • Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery • Department of Dentistry • Department of Emergency Medicine • Department of Family and Social Medicine • Department of Medicine • Department of Neurology • Department of Neurosurgery • Department of Nuclear Medicine • Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Health • Department of Oncology • Department of Ophthalmology • Department of Orthopaedic Surgery • Department of Otorhinolaryngology (ENT) • Department of Pathology • Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences • Department of Radiation Oncology • Department of Radiology • Department of Rehabilitation Medicine • Department of Surgery • Department of Urology

Breast Cancer Program

A Recognized Center of Excellence

Approximately 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the United States alone. At the Breast Cancer Program at the Montefiore-Einstein Center for Cancer Care, led by prominent surgeon Leslie Montgomery, MD, Chief, Division of Breast Surgery and Lisa Wiechmann, MD, Attending Breast Surgeon, we provide personalized care to patients from across the country, using the most advanced diagnostics, treatments and technologies for all types and stages of benign and malignant breast disease.

Multidisciplinary Care

Our highly skilled experts work as a multidisciplinary team, so each patient benefits from convenient meetings with several members at one time as well as their collective expertise. Members of this specialized team include: medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists, plastic and reconstructive surgeons, social workers, geneticists, pathologists, radiologists, patient navigators, psychologists and a specialist in lymphedema. Additionally, we offer exceptional education to patients so they are able to make the best treatment decisions with our guidance.

The ultimate goal for each patient is to devise a customized plan that considers both the optimal cancer care and the expectations and desires of each patient.

Advanced Breast Surgery

The surgeons at Montefiore offer a variety of surgical approaches to breast cancer patients. Factors that are considered important in planning surgical treatment include tumor size, location, breast size and patient preference. Based on these and other factors, patients will be offered one or more of the following options:

Breast

• Lumpectomy (breast-conserving surgery): Removing only the cancerous tissue with a surrounding rim of normal tissue. This operation requires post-operative radiation therapy.
• Mastectomy (skin-sparing, nipple-sparing and modified radical): The removal of all breast tissue.

 

Underarm (Axillary) Lymph Nodes

• Sentinel lymph node biopsy: The mapping, removal and microscopic examination of the sentinel nodes, which are the first lymph nodes to receive cancer cells from breast tumors.
• Axillary lymph node dissection: The removal of the axillary lymph nodes when cancer has spread to those lymph nodes.

 

Reconstructive Surgery

• Oncoplastic surgery: The objective of oncoplastic surgery is to combine complete tumor resection with optimal cosmetic outcome in the setting of breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy). Oncoplastic surgery is considered an integral part of "personalized surgery" and underscores the need to tailor surgery to each individual patient and breast cancer.
• Post-mastectomy breast reconstruction: 
• Autologous tissue reconstruction: This technique uses muscle and fat derived from the patient's body (usually from the back or the stomach) to re-create the shape of the breast.
• Tissue expander and implant reconstruction: This technique uses tissue expanders followed by saline or silicone implants to re-create the shape of the breast.

Breast Cancer Research and Support Services

The Montefiore-Einstein Center for Cancer Care initiates various research studies and participates in many of the national clinical trials currently in progress. Our oncologists discuss eligibility with each of our patients to optimize treatment. All of our research endeavors have the common goal of improving patients' quality of life and overall survivorship.

Prevention and Support Services such as yoga rehabilitation, stress management, nutritional guidance and genetic counseling also play a vital role in our patients’ well-being. These programs are designed to help patients and their families cope with the psychological and emotional effects of cancer and cancer treatment.

We understand that a diagnosis of breast cancer is extremely stressful and challenging. Our team works diligently, not only as physicians and surgeons, but also as educators and investigative researchers to provide our patients with information, clinical trial opportunities and expert advice they need to make the best treatment decisions with the least disruption to their lives.

Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Program Physicians and Staff

In It Together Fund