Breast Cancer Care at Wellstar

Treatment for Breast Cancer

Our breast cancer specialists have the highest level of training in their field and work together to offer patients multidisciplinary care, which can improve outcomes. Each patient gets the level of attention and coordinated care they need due in large part to collaboration among their physicians and care team. At Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center, patients can meet with a multidisciplinary team of breast cancer specialists in one day in our STAT Clinic for Breast Cancer.

Almost all types of breast cancer require multiple types of therapy and the treatment is individualized for each patient’s tumor to optimize their care. This therapy may include surgery, radiation oncology and some form of systemic therapy, such as targeted therapy, endocrine treatment, immunotherapy or chemotherapy.

Together, Wellstar physicians treat more than 1,000 patients with breast cancer every year. The multidisciplinary breast cancer program at Wellstar Kennestone Medical Center alone treats nearly 500 people with breast cancer annually, giving our specialists a high volume of experience in breast cancer disease. 

Medical oncology for breast cancer

Our medical oncologists provide care that is wholly focused on what is right for each patient with breast cancer. We employ the latest advances in biomarker testing—also known as genomic testing—to learn about each patient’s genetic makeup and characteristics of the breast tumor. And, we take the time to get to know our patients. Our caring relationships—paired with the latest scientific advancements—help us optimize your care.

While we have the newest treatments at our fingertips, every decision we make is based on what will lead to the best outcomes for each patient. For example, we emphasize treating aggressively when it’s important. Other times, we deescalate—or lighten treatment when we can—to give patients the best quality of life.

Specific therapies we may use to treat someone who has breast cancer include immunotherapy, endocrine—or anti-estrogen—therapy, hormone therapy, chemotherapy and other targeted therapies based on biomarker testing. We are often able to enroll our patients in clinical trials to test groundbreaking breast cancer therapies.

Breast cancer research & clinical trials

Hundreds of people with breast cancer have participated in Wellstar’s robust research and clinical trials program. We have a strong track record of making groundbreaking treatments available to breast cancer patients. In fact, we were the only site in Georgia to participate in the Genentech IMpassion130 trial, which led to the first FDA approval of immunotherapy for breast cancer in 2019. We continue to participate in clinical trials we believe are in our patients’ best interest.

Breast surgery & reconstruction

Surgeons at Wellstar are leading experts in the breast cancer field. The first breast cancer specialist in the southeast was Dr. Phil Israel, a breast surgeon at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital. Many of the breast surgeons in Atlanta were trained by Dr. Israel at Kennestone Hospital. The center continues to be a high-volume, highly specialized treatment program for breast cancer today.

Breast surgeons are involved in the diagnosis of breast cancer, performing ultrasound-guided as well as 3D/stereotactic biopsies in their offices. We offer high-risk breast cancer assessment and care over time.

One treatment option for breast cancer is breast surgery. Surgeons at Wellstar offer breast reconstruction to women having a mastectomy or a lumpectomy at the same time as the cancer-removing surgery. Alternatively, reconstruction can be delayed. The goals of breast reconstruction can range from helping women fit more comfortably into their clothing to regaining their self-confidence. Reconstructing the breasts can be as much about emotional recovery as physical recovery.

Our specialists have advanced training and are highly experienced with all the modern surgical techniques, including:

• Skin-sparing and nipple-sparing mastectomy
• Hidden Scar for breast-conserving surgery
• Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) performed in tandem with a radiation oncologist
• Reconstruction at the same time as the mastectomy including implants, latissimus flaps or advanced microsurgical techniques such as DIEP flaps
• Oncoplastic breast surgery, a lumpectomy with breast reduction

It’s helpful for many patients to know that breast reconstruction is covered by all insurance companies for any patient diagnosed with breast cancer. Even if the insurance plan changes, a patient’s insurance company is required to pay for any surgery related to breast reconstruction for the rest of their life.

Radiation oncology for breast cancer

Wellstar radiation oncologists are highly experienced at treating breast cancer. Patients at various Wellstar locations have access to leading radiation treatments and techniques delivered by state-of-the-art technology such as TrueBeam, TomoTherapy and CyberKnife.

This modern technology provides the physician the ability to specialize and individualize a patient’s care, while treating the cancer and sparing surrounding healthy tissue. For example, many patients can be treated in the prone position, lying on the treatment table with the chest down. This position allows decreased radiation exposure to the heart and lung. When it is indicated for a patient, we also offer Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) for more complex treatment designs and delivery.

Our Wellstar Kennestone Hospital team leads the state with the highest volume in accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI), a faster radiation treatment option for women with early-stage breast cancer. It is delivered in just five days using high-dose rate brachytherapy. This breast-conserving therapy is typically paired with a surgical procedure called a lumpectomy.

Primarily at Wellstar North Fulton Hospital, our radiation oncologists team up with breast surgeons to perform a highly specialized procedure called intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT). A surgeon removes the tumor and a radiation oncologist directly applies a one-time radiation treatment.