Breast cancer

Recognized breast cancer care in San Antonio

A breast cancer diagnosis can be confusing and possibly even scary—but you don't have to navigate it alone. At Methodist Healthcare, our cancer care team treats more patients with breast cancer than any other hospital system in the Greater San Antonio area.

We offer integrated breast cancer services paired with convenient access and cutting edge technologies for individuals faced with fighting breast cancer. Our breast cancer programs maintain the highest standards in the region, with personalized, compassionate care for patients on their journey from discovery to recovery.

Your breast cancer care team at Methodist Healthcare offers:

• Breast programs that are quality based and certified by the National Quality Measures for Breast Centers
• Cancer support services and access to local and national support groups
• Breast cancer nurse navigators who will guide you through your cancer journey
• The most established multidisciplinary breast tumor conference in San Antonio, continuously discussing breast cancer cases prospectively since 1993
• State-of-the art breast reconstruction procedures including Hidden Scar, DIEP flap, and surgery for the treatment of lymphedema
• Board certified and fellowship trained pathologists and radiologists
• Genetic counseling and risk assessment
• Oncology rehabilitation and lymphedema therapy

For more information about our cancer care services, please call askSARAH at (210) 507-0941.

Breast cancer treatment

Our highly trained treatment team of pathologists, radiologists, medical oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists and plastic surgeons work together to provide comprehensive, individualized cancer care. Our affiliated physicians are leaders in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

In addition to chemotherapy or radiation therapy, your breast cancer doctor may recommend breast surgery as part of your treatment plan.

Mastectomy

A mastectomy is a procedure that involves surgically removing the entire breast. You can have a mastectomy to remove one breast (unilateral mastectomy) or both breasts (bilateral mastectomy).

In a mastectomy procedure, your surgeon removes a breast cancer tumor by removing all of the tissue. There are several mastectomy options: a simple (total) mastectomy, skin-sparing mastectomy and a nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM).

You might be considered for a Hidden Scar™ NSM if no cancerous tissue is found in the nipple. Additionally, a Hidden Scar™ NSM is a safe approach that can be used in patients seeking a prophylactic mastectomy, which is a mastectomy that is performed even if cancer does not exist.

This may be performed in women with:

• Non-invasive cancer
• Small tumors that do not lie directly beneath the nipple
• Family history of breast cancer or the BRCA gene

Lumpectomy

Lumpectomy is surgery in which only the tumor and some surrounding tissue are removed. This surgery also referred to as breast-conserving surgery, helps confirm a diagnosis or rule it out. Your doctor may recommend a lumpectomy if a biopsy has shown that you have cancer and that it is small or early stage. A lumpectomy is usually followed by radiation therapy to help prevent the cancer from returning.

A lumpectomy can be performed as a Hidden Scar ™ procedure. You may be considered for a Hidden Scar™ lumpectomy if the size of the tumor is small enough compared to the size of your breast.

Breast reconstruction surgery

After a mastectomy or lumpectomy, talk to your nurse navigator about breast reconstructive surgery. Several options that recreate the nipple and areola are available.

Our advanced reconstructive procedure, the deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap, is a procedure by which surgeons use the patient's abdominal skin and fat to reconstruct the breast after a mastectomy. With the DIEP flap, patients experience faster recovery and a lower risk of complications than many other reconstructive techniques. State of the art surgical treatment for lymphedema is also available, including lymphatic-to-vascular anastomosis (“LVA” hook-up) and vascularized lymph node transfer.