Dana Booker's complex breast cancer case required multi-disciplinary care – and doctors who understood that getting to a concert was important, too.
Kathryn Diamond felt hopeless when she realized she had breast cancer. But then she learned how much treatments have changed.
Hollings is offering breast cancer patients more reconstructive options thanks to technology and advanced surgical techniques.
The MUSC Hollings Hereditary Cancer Clinic offers testing, screening, diagnosis, and treatment for people with mutations in cancer-causing genes.
MUSC Hollings Cancer Center is on the cutting-edge of treatment for breast cancer. We provide the latest surgical techniques, targeted therapies and innovative breast reconstruction options. We also offer new treatments through breast cancer clinical trials.
Hollings is accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, which means that we meet rigorous standards for quality and are committed to providing you with the best breast cancer treatments possible.
Radiation Therapy | Breast Cancer Surgery | Breast Reconstruction | Chemotherapy | Immunotherapy | Targeted Therapy | Hormone Therapy | Breast Cancer Symptoms | Care Locations
Aleasa Barry wasn't sure what to expect when it came to getting radiation for breast cancer. We went along as she went through the process.
We do not take a one size fits all approach to breast cancer treatment. Our breast cancer care team offers the following ways to treat breast cancer:
Hypofractionated (shorter) courses of external beam radiation therapy are more convenient, equally effective, and have less skin toxicity than traditional courses of conventionally fractionated radiotherapy (six to seven weeks). For patients requiring whole breast radiotherapy, we routinely offer three to four weeks of hypofractionated treatment. For patients with small, lymph node negative breast cancers, we offer accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI) which can shorten the duration of radiation to just five days.
Our Radiation Oncology team utilizes a radiotherapy technique specifically for patients with left-sided breast cancer where radiation delivered to the heart is a major concern. The Deep Inspiration Breath Hold technique requires patients to hold their breath as the chest is expanded and the heart is pushed down and away from your chest wall. This process helps to minimize the dose of radiation to your lungs and heart during your daily treatment. Deep Inspiration Breath Hold is the most efficient way to minimize this risk.
Learn more about radiation oncology at Hollings.
The team at Hollings includes surgeons who specialize in breast cancer. Most treatment plans for breast cancer will include surgery of some type. Your doctors will work with you to determine the surgery that will be most effective for your situation and that you will be most comfortable with. Some options include:
A lumpectomy is surgery to remove the tumor and some of the surrounding tissue. There are three ways this can be accomplished:
A mastectomy is the total removal of the breast. There are a few ways this is done, depending on the specifics of your cancer and whether you would like breast reconstruction after treatment.
If you have an invasive breast cancer (the cancer has started to spread beyond the original site), then a sentinel node procedure might be appropriate. Because cancer can spread through the lymphatic system, this procedure looks for and removes the lymph node that’s at greatest risk of having cancer. This procedure is done at the same time as surgery to remove the cancer.
This is a minimally invasive option to leave the smallest possible scar. It can be an option for lumpectomies or mastectomies, depending on the specifics of your cancer. We have a Hidden Scar-certified surgeon who can perform your surgery.
Learn more about surgery at Hollings.
The MUSC Health Advanced Breast Reconstruction Program provides expert care and multiple options after your surgery to remove the cancer.
Chemotherapy drugs destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy might be given before surgery, to shrink a tumor; after surgery, to kill any remaining circulating cancer cells that are too small to see; or instead of surgery.
Chemoprevention means taking chemotherapy drugs as a way to prevent cancer before it starts. This option is for women who are at high risk for breast cancer.
Immunotherapy helps your immune system to fight cancer. Cancer cells can prevent T-cells, part of your immune system, from doing their job. Immune checkpoint inhibitors prevent the cancer cells from suppressing T-cells. This type of therapy is approved for certain types of breast cancer.
Targeted therapies are drugs that seek out a specific receptor, protein or other marker on the cancer cells. Your doctor will test your cancer tissue to see if it has any of the markers for which targeted therapies exist.
Hormone therapy for cancer will block your body from producing hormones or interfere with how hormones act in your body. For cancers that feed off hormones to grow, hormone therapy can shrink a tumor before surgery, reduce the chances that a cancer will return or treat advanced breast cancer.
