YOUR MAMMOGRAM LOOKS ABNORMAL.
NOW WHAT?
A GUIDE TO HOW OUR MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAMS DIAGNOSE AND MAY TREAT YOUR BREAST CANCER
I
t’s hard to overstate the impact of regular mammograms. “They are amazing screening tools,” says Firas Eladoumikdachi, MD, Breast Surgical Oncologist at Rutgers Cancer Institute
DEBORAH TOPPMEYER, MD
Healthy Together
FIRAS ELADOUMIKDACHI, MD
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of New Jersey and The Cancer Center at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Hamilton. “They’re really lifesaving.” Thanks to screening, most breast cancers are now detected in early stages when they are most easily treated. “There’s even a stage zero in which survival is close to 98 or 99 percent,” Dr. Eladoumikdachi says. “You can treat it and move on with life. These early cancers generally don’t affect life span at all.” Yet many cancers are found at later stages or involve a complex mix of
RWJBarnabas Health and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton, in partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey—the state’s only NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center—provide close-to-home access to the most advanced treatment options. Call 844.CANCERNJ or visit www.rwjbh.org/beatcancer.
factors that affect care. And care itself can consist of a number of options from a range of specialists in multidisciplinary teams. “Cancer care is increasingly personalized,” says Deborah Toppmeyer, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Director of the Stacy Goldstein Breast Cancer Center at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and breast medical oncologist at The Cancer Center at RWJUH Hamilton. “But it often starts with an abnormal mammogram.” Once you’re found to have an abnormal mammogram, here is what you and your cancer team may do next.
Spring 2022
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