Medical Services
Advanced Detection | Second Opinion Services | Treatment | Breast Reconstruction
Advanced detection
 Early detection is essential for surviving breast cancer. Mammograms, self-exams and breast health screenings can give you a head start in the race against this disease. The American Cancer Society recommends a baseline mammogram between the ages of 35 and 40, with annual mammograms after age 40.
To help detect breast cancer in its earliest stages, the Shands Jacksonville Breast Health Center and the Shands Jacksonville Advanced Breast Imaging Center at Emerson Medical Plaza offer state-of-the-art digital mammography with computer-aided diagnosis. In addition, the Advanced Breast Imaging Center offers the latest in breast ultrasound services - 3-D automated breast ultrasound and elastography. This imaging technology provides UF radiologists a non-invasive means to further evaluate a mass detected by mammogram.
More on mammography services »
If a lump or abnormality is detected, the Breast Health Center offers a number of diagnostic services, including stereotactic, image-guided biopsies and fine needle aspiration biopsies. The center also offers ductal lavage, an innovative, minimally invasive method of searching for abnormal cells inside the milk ducts, where most breast cancer begins.
Second opinion services
 The Breast Health Center also offers a Breast Pathology Consultation Service that is designed to provide second opinions, comprehensive risk assessments and individualized breast health education and counseling. Breast cancer risk assessment requires in-depth knowledge about risk factors, family history, tests for genetic susceptibility and many other factors that determine the probability of developing breast cancer. Second opinions can be helpful in confirming a diagnosis of cancer and reducing the anxiety associated with choosing the best option among several treatment plans. [More on Breast Pathology Consultation]
Comprehensive treatment
When the diagnosis of breast cancer is established, it is important for the patient to understand the course of her or his disease and the best options for therapy. For treatment of breast cancer, the Shands Jacksonville Breast Health Center offers the collaborative efforts of highly trained UF specialists in breast surgery, medical oncology (chemotherapy) and radiation therapy. The Breast Health Center also offers a dedicated patient navigator to help guide patients from the time they are diagnosed through their treatment.
For patients who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, the UF Section of Breast Surgery offers four primary surgical treatment options.
- Lumpectomy is the removal of the breast tumor and surrounding tissues. This is also commonly referred to as breast conservation surgery.
- Mastectomy – total breast removal – is performed in cases with large or multiple tumors. The division also offers prophylactic mastectomy, which is the preventative removal of the breast to reduce the risk of cancer in high-risk individuals.
- Modified radical mastectomy is the removal of the entire breast, several lymph nodes beneath the arm, the lining over the chest muscles, and in some cases part of the chest muscles. This is the most commonly performed procedure for breast cancer.
- Partial or segmental mastectomy is the removal of the cancer as well as some of the breast tissue surrounding the tumor; including the lining over the chest muscles under the tumor. Usually some of the lymph nodes under the arm are removed. This surgical option is typically followed by radiation therapy.
A patient may be given radiation therapy, chemotherapy or hormone therapy following surgery in an attempt to destroy any remaining cancerous cells.
Because each patient is different, the physician will review various treatment options with the patient prior to developing a treatment strategy. [More on Breast Surgery; Hematology and Medical Oncology; and Radiation Oncology]
Breast reconstruction
 If a patient's treatment includes mastectomy - surgical removal of one or both breasts - the physicians of the UF Plastic Surgery Institute of Jacksonville are skilled in reconstructing the removed breast. Frequently, reconstruction is possible immediately following breast removal, so the patient wakes up with a breast mound already in place, having been spared the experience of seeing herself with no breast at all. [More on Breast Reconstruction]
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Susan Snodgrass, M.D. - 3-D Automated Breast Ultrasound