16 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • OCTOBER 2021
DEFEAT BREAST CANCER
THE HOLISTIC APPROACH
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BY CHRISTINE HODYL,
D.O., F.A.C.S.
Director of Breast Health Services
Mount Sinai South Nassau
When my patient Jennifer Scarduzio, a
resident of Baldwin, went for a routine
mammogram, she did not anticipate that
it would kick off a year of surgery and
treatment.
Jennifer’s mammogram detected ductal
carcinoma in situ, a small growth
that is often called stage zero breast
cancer. Final pathology results from
surgery, however, were very different
from the initial biopsy. She was
ultimately diagnosed with stage 2
breast cancer.
Comforted by her family and friends,
Jennifer needed to travel approximately
2 miles from her house to Mount Sinai
South Nassau Breast Health to receive
the care that she needed. Her treatment
entailed a double mastectomy with
reconstruction, followed by chemotherapy
and radiation therapy. Today,
Jennifer, 52, is cancer free.
Jennifer offers this advice: “Get
screened no matter how scary the
outcome can be.” I couldn’t agree
more.
An average of nearly 2,400 women on
Long Island as well as nearly 300,000
women in the U.S. are diagnosed with
breast cancer annually. Over the course
of my career as a physician and surgeon
specializing in breast cancer, I know
the life-saving diff erence of detecting
cancer in its earliest stage.
Every day at Mount Sinai South Nassau
Women’s Imaging, specialists use
digital mammography, high-resolution
ultrasound, MRI, and minimally
invasive procedures to detect breast
disease in its earliest stage and help
develop treatment plans.
So, if breast-conserving surgery is
desired, our surgeons use advanced
techniques that aim to preserve as
much of the healthy breast as possible.
If mastectomy, an operation in which
the whole breast is removed, is needed,
there are options for breast reconstruction.
For invasive breast cancer,
these procedures may be accompanied
by a sentinel lymph node biopsy or an
axillary lymph node dissection.
Hormonal therapy, radiation therapy,
chemotherapy, or a combination of
two of these therapies following either
surgical approach may be prescribed.
If early-stage breast cancer is present,
sentinel lymph node biopsy is used as
an alternative to traditional lymph node
dissection.
My colleagues and I are always in
pursuit of medical innovations. We are
now enrolling patients in a randomized
phase 3 trial that studies axillary lymph
node dissection to see how well it works
compared to axillary radiation therapy
in treating patients with node-positive
breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant
chemotherapy followed by surgery.
The cornerstone of the care we provide,
however, is the strong relationships we
establish with patients. This, combined
with the support of loved ones and the
comprehensive, quality care we off er, is
the approach Mount Sinai South Nassau
uses to defeat breast cancer.
POINT OF VIEW
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