Breast Cancer
When you’re diagnosed with breast cancer, you want the right team on your side—a team that offers personalized, advanced treatments along with extensive support and guidance. You’ll find all that and more right here in your community when you choose Cone Health.
Coordinated Breast Cancer Care
Gain from the Breast Cancer Alliance—a collaboration among specialists from Cone Health Cancer Center and seven local independent practices and organizations. Your newly diagnosed case is reviewed jointly by more than 20 physicians, as well as pharmacists, research nurses and nurse navigators, so you’ll receive coordinated care recommendations that incorporate the latest techniques and treatment options.
View a map with names and locations of the Breast Cancer Alliance members. Or learn more about your Cone Health cancer care team, including nurse navigators dedicated to working with women and men with breast cancer.
Breast Multidisciplinary Clinic
See multiple providers in a single day through our Breast Multidisciplinary Clinic program. You’ll:
- Learn about your diagnosis and treatment options
- Review the benefits, risks and potential side effects of recommended treatments
- Access support for your mind, body, and spirit
Receive a written summary of your care plan after each visit.
Advanced Treatments for Breast Cancer
Partner with your care team to create a treatment plan that fits your needs and preferences. Your overall treatment plan could include:
- Chemotherapy
- Hormone therapy
- Radiation therapy, including image-guided beam radiation therapy (IGRT) and MammoSite™ brachytherapy
- Surgery, including lumpectomy, mastectomy and breast reconstruction
Depending on your condition, overall treatment plan and preferences, you may be able to choose immediate reconstruction, which means your surgeons begin rebuilding your breast during the same surgery as your mastectomy.
Learn more about cancer treatments at Cone Health Cancer Center.
Targeted Internal Radiation for Breast Cancer
After a lumpectomy, prevent cancer recurrence with targeted radiation that’s finished in just five days. If you qualify for MammoSite, your doctor places a small balloon attached to a thin, flexible tube called a catheter inside your breast. Twice a day for five days, a tiny radioactive “seed” is placed in the balloon to deliver high doses of radiation directly to tissue surrounding the lumpectomy site. The “seed” is removed after each session; the catheter is removed at the end of the course of treatment.
Radioactive Seed Localization
Thanks to an alliance between Cone Health, The Breast Center of Greensboro Imaging and Central Carolina Surgery, patients in the Greensboro area now have access to Radioactive Seed Localization, a groundbreaking procedure that helps physicians more accurately target abnormal breast tissue, vastly improving breast cancer patient experiences and outcomes. View Video
Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy
When your treatment requires surgery, you may benefit from a procedure that removes the cancer while preserving your nipple and surrounding tissue. Performed by a breast surgical oncologist and plastic surgeon, a nipple-sparing mastectomy, or skin-sparing mastectomy, allows your doctors to create a more natural appearance during breast reconstruction.
Breast Cancer Clinical Trials
If you choose to participate in a clinical trial, you may benefit from new treatments or tests not yet widely available. Explore our clinical trials for cancer or ask your doctor for more information about studies you may be eligible for.
Rehabilitation & Lymphedema Management
Meet with your cancer rehabilitation team early to plan for a successful recovery, especially if your treatment plan includes breast surgery. Your therapist may recommend “prehab”—exercises to build strength and endurance before treatment begins.
After breast cancer surgery, learn how to prevent infections and lymphedema (swelling) as well as safely rebuild strength and flexibility in Cone Health’s free After Breast Cancer Class.
If your treatment leads to lymphedema, get help managing your condition from physical therapist specially trained in lymphedema management.
Breast Cancer Support & Resources
Lean on Cone Health and the Alight Program for comprehensive support to help you and your family face the challenges of your breast cancer journey.
Take advantage of services especially for you, such as:
- Educational and informational resources, including “The Journey,” a three-ring binder containing information on local medical and community resources
- Financial support through Alight’s Emergency Assistance Fund
- Breast cancer survivor mentoring program
- Breast cancer support group on the third Tuesday of each month.
Explore Cone Health Cancer Center’s support and wellness services, or learn more about the Alight Program.
Care for Breast Cancer Survivors
After completing treatment, take advantage of follow-up care and support from Cone Health. Ask your nurse navigator about our survivorship clinic, where you’ll receive a survivorship care plan that summarizes all your treatments and includes personalized guidelines for follow-up care. Learn more about survivorship services at Cone Health.
