To make an appointment for consultation,
please call 410-502-8001 and speak with our scheduler.

For referring physicians, you may also fax requests for consultation to 410-614-9950 or page our scheduler at
410-434-3108.

Surgical Oncologist - A doctor who performs biopsies and other surgical procedures in cancer patients.

Radiation Therapy - Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy x-rays to destroy cancer cells. Special machines deliver precisely targeted beams of radiation to the site of the cancer. This therapy is painless and has minimal side effects. Though rare, some women report a feeling of fullness or swelling in the breast, flu-like symptoms , or when lymph nodes are treated, swelling under the arm. Radiation therapy is most often recommended for patients undergoing lumpectomy and less frequently for women who have undergone mastectomy. Typical treatment for early stage breast cancer typically requires six weeks of daily treatments.

Medical Oncologist - A doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating cancer using chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and biological therapy. A medical oncologist often is the main health care provider for someone who has cancer. A medical oncologist also gives supportive care and may coordinate treatment given by other specialists.

A mammogram, or breast x-ray, is one of the most widely used diagnostic tools for breast problems. There are two kinds of mammograms. Screening mammograms are done when there are no signs or symptoms of a problem. However, they help provide a picture for health care providers of what the patient's healthy breast tissue looks like, so that changes in breast tissue can be easily identified. Diagnostic mammograms are used for patients with a breast lump, thickening or nipple discharge and for patients who have had previous lumps or cancer.

Abnormalities identified through mammography or physical exam by the patient or physician can be imaged through ultrasound. This diagnostic technique can help determine if a lump is fluid-filled, like a cyst, or solid, like a benign or cancerous tumor. It also can help determine if an area of thickening is breast tissue or a tumor.

Biopsy - A diagnosis of cancer must be proven by the presence of cancer cells as seen under a microscope. This is why a biopsy—a very small operation that removes tissue from an area of concern in the body—is required to get the cells for microscopic analysis.
A biopsy helps doctors zero in on the size, type, and kind of breast cancer you may have. Biopsies are performed on any kind of abnormality that your doctor can feel or that looks suspicious. It's usually a very simple procedure. In the United States, only about 20% of women who have biopsies turn out to have cancer.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) - This technique uses a magnetic field to image the body. An intravenous injection of a dye is given to the patient. The dye is absorbed better by cancers but not by benign lesions, helping physicians determine if a suspicious mass is a cancer.

What are Clinical Trials?
Clinical trials, also called research studies, test new treatments in people with cancer. The goal of this research is to find better ways to treat cancer and help cancer patients. Clinical trials test many types of treatment such as new drugs, new approaches to surgery or radiation therapy, new combinations of treatments, or new methods such as gene therapy.

A clinical trial is one of the final stages of a long and careful cancer research process. The search for new treatments begins in the laboratory, where scientists first develop and test new ideas. If an approach seems promising, the next step may be testing a treatment in animals to see how it affects cancer in a living being and whether it has harmful effects. Studies are done with cancer patients to find out whether promising treatments are safe and effective.