The Care Team Who Supports Your Breast Cancer Treatment

A breast can­cer diag­no­sis can be scary, but our Duly Health and Care breast can­cer care team will be with you every step of the way. Whether it’s breast can­cer screen­ing or treat­ment after a diag­no­sis, Duly is here for you. Your breast can­cer care team con­sists of an inte­grat­ed group of spe­cial­ists who will find the best treat­ment plan for your indi­vid­ual needs and sup­port you along the way.

Meet some of the peo­ple on your breast can­cer care team.

Nurse nav­i­ga­tor

An oncol­o­gy nurse nav­i­ga­tor is here for you and your fam­i­ly to help coor­di­nate care from diag­no­sis and beyond. They’re here to make nav­i­gat­ing life after a breast can­cer diag­no­sis less daunt­ing. Their role is to pro­vide addi­tion­al infor­ma­tion about treat­ment options, answer ques­tions and con­nect you, and your care­givers, with any addi­tion­al sup­port ser­vices that may be needed. 

Med­ical oncologist

Your Duly med­ical oncol­o­gist will diag­nose and treat your breast can­cer. They work close­ly with your entire care team to devel­op a per­son­al­ized treat­ment plan. Treat­ment options may include surgery, chemother­a­py, radi­a­tion ther­a­py, bio­log­i­cal ther­a­py, immunother­a­py or a com­bi­na­tion of these therapies. 

Breast sur­geon

Your breast can­cer sur­geon, some­times called a sur­gi­cal oncol­o­gist, will remove the can­cer. They will dis­cuss the best treat­ment for you. Many women with ear­ly-stage breast can­cer might be pre­sent­ed with two sur­gi­cal options — breast-con­serv­ing surgery (removes part of the breast where can­cer is found) or a mas­tec­to­my (entire breast is removed).

Most women with breast can­cer will have surgery as part of their treatment.

Here are 4 rea­sons you may need breast surgery:

1. To remove the can­cer, or as much of it as possible

2. To alle­vi­ate advanced can­cer symptoms

3. To check if the can­cer has spread out­ward to the lymph nodes under the arms

4. To restore the breast’s look and over­all appear­ance after the can­cer has been removed

The thought of surgery might make you anx­ious or over­whelmed, but your breast can­cer sur­geon will care­ful­ly explain whichev­er treat­ment is best for you. It’s also impor­tant to under­stand that you have a high­er chance of elim­i­nat­ing the can­cer through surgery. 

Infu­sion Cen­ter Team

Duly’s Infu­sion Cen­ter offers many spe­cial­ized pro­ce­dures and treat­ments, includ­ing chemother­a­py. Each of our cen­ters offer patients a sooth­ing envi­ron­ment. They’re equipped with the best med­ical equip­ment and include ameni­ties such as inter­net access, cable tele­vi­sion, DVD play­ers, and cozy blankets. 

Radi­a­tion oncologist

Radi­a­tion oncol­o­gists are a part of the Duly Health and Care Inte­grat­ed Oncol­o­gy Pro­gram and use the lat­est tech­nol­o­gy to deliv­er lead­­ing-edge can­cer treat­ment. When breast can­cer is found, radi­a­tion ther­a­py might be one treat­ment option your oncol­o­gist will sug­gest. Radi­a­tion ther­a­py uses high-ener­gy rays to destroy can­cer cells. Radi­a­tion ther­a­py is usu­al­ly com­bined with chemother­a­py and surgery. 

Radi­a­tion is designed to tar­get a spe­cif­ic area where there’s can­cer. This treat­ment gives you a high­er qual­i­ty of life and a bet­ter sur­vival rate.

Plas­tic surgeon

Once the can­cer has been removed, a plas­tic sur­geon can go in to restore the breast. They will be able to improve the over­all appear­ance of your breast(s) after the can­cer has been removed.

Some women choose to have recon­struc­tive surgery imme­di­ate­ly after, while some wait. Women choose breast recon­struc­tion surgery for var­i­oust per­son­al rea­sons; it might boost your con­fi­dence or just help your clothes fit bet­ter,. What­ev­er the rea­son, it’s your deci­sion. Make sure you meet with a plas­tic sur­geon before the breast surgery to go over your recon­struc­tion options and address expectations. 

Phys­i­cal Therapist

A phys­i­cal ther­a­pist may also sup­port your can­cer reha­bil­i­ta­tion. At Duly, our phys­i­cal ther­a­pists can help you learn to man­age the phys­i­cal side effects of can­cer or can­cer treat­ments. The team also includes occu­pa­tion­al ther­a­pists. They can work with you to help you regain your motion, build strength, increase endurance, over­come fatigue, and more. Togeth­er, our team will cre­ate an indi­vid­ual treat­ment plan to meet your goals and improve your qual­i­ty of life.

Men­tal Health Dur­ing Treatment

Mak­ing sure your men­tal health is tak­en care of dur­ing breast can­cer treat­ment is impor­tant. While it’s not uncom­mon to feel a lit­tle over­whelmed by a can­cer diag­no­sis, remem­ber you aren’t alone. Duly’s behav­ioral and men­tal health ser­vices has providers who will help you achieve long-last­ing men­tal, emo­tion­al, and phys­i­cal well-being.

If you’re feel­ing over­whelmed about a breast can­cer diag­no­sis, talk­ to Duly’s care team about your con­cerns. For more infor­ma­tion on our oncol­o­gy team, or to sched­ule an appoint­ment, vis­it our Hema­tol­ogy & Oncol­o­gy depart­ment web­site or call 630−364−7850.