32 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • OCTOBER 2019
HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS OFFER EXPERT
By Michelle Gabrielle Centamore
Between 2012 and 2016, there were
13,064 new cases of female breast
cancer in Nassau and Suffolk counties,
according to the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
In response, New York State and Long
Island healthcare systems continue to
raise the bar in care and treatment
for patients facing a breast cancer
diagnosis, enhancing their approach
from an emotional, physical, and
physiological perspective and making
it more accessible overall. To date,
most healthcare systems have embraced
a multidisciplinary approach
to treating breast cancer, as well as
innovative practices to improve their
patients’ outcomes.
“It’s easier to share information and
sharing information leads to more
consistency and higher quality care,”
says Dr. Brian O’Hea, director of the
Carol M. Baldwin Breast Care Center
in Stony Brook.
As an academic medical center, Stony
Brook has access to the most current
clinical trials, in addition to standard
of care, he says.
“We also have a radiation oncology
team looking for ways to treat
patients successfully with less radiation
treatments,” he says, noting
that the goal is “patient-centered and
patient-focused care.”
Dr. O’Hea was the first fellowship
trained breast surgeon on Long
Island.
“Breast cancer surgery was initially
mixed in with hernia and gall bladder
surgery,” he says. “The advent
of breast fellowships and specially
trained breast surgeons trained on
the technical aspects of breast cancer
surgery, and also including adjuvant
therapies, was a huge innovation for
women.”
Stony Brook was also the first in New
York State to receive accreditation
from the National Accreditation
Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC),
he notes.
Going forward, Stony Brook remains
committed to research, for example,
“looking for better imaging of the
armpit lymph nodes to see whether
there is cancer or not using a special
MRI coil,” O’Hea says.
The center isn’t alone in its innovation.
South Nassau Communities Hospital
in Oceanside recently partnered
with Mount Sinai to become Mount
Sinai South Nassau.
“We are pleased to be the flagship
hospital for Mount Sinai,” says Dr.
Christine Hodyl, director of breast
services at Mount Sinai South Nassau.
“All of the components are here
in the hospital, with less travel and
having expertise in breast cancer
care in a patient’s own backyard.”
Mount Sinai is embracing new approaches
to breast cancer surgery,
utilizing oncoplastic techniques.
“We provide the most innovative
surgical techniques that have excellent
cosmetic results and improve
the functional quality for a patient,”
Dr. Hodyl says. For example, “We are
now placing implants above the muscle
and we are able to do an immediate
implant reconstruction at the same
time as a mastectomy, leaving the
muscle in place; and this leads to less
pain, quicker recovery and a smaller
number of surgical procedures.”
Mount Sinai is also adding genetic
BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau opened in Uniondale in April.
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