Breast Cancer Care at Siteman Cancer Center
If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer or are worried about either symptoms or your own genetic risk for developing breast cancer, Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine is ranked among the best in the country for breast care and outcomes.
We see more than 1,000 new breast cancer patients each year, putting us in the top five of the largest centers in the country for the number of patients seen.
That experience matters because we know exactly what to look for and precisely how to treat it.
Even if you are at the beginning of your journey — if you need an initial screening, are concerned about symptoms, or have a family history of breast cancer and want to know your own risk — we are with you from the very first step through any treatment and lifelong support.
We specialize in multidisciplinary care that is personalized to your specific type of cancer, no matter what stage. Importantly, WashU Medicine physicians at Siteman understand that no two breast cancer cases are alike — and we treat each differently based on your unique needs.
At Siteman Cancer Center, we are focused on you, with extensive expertise to evaluate and offer you the best options. Our care coordinators — specially trained nurses who help with scheduling and navigation — will help guide you from your very first call.
Whether you need a screening or diagnostic mammogram, have just been diagnosed with breast cancer, or have a family member diagnosed with breast cancer, we are here to help.
Our Siteman care coordinators – oncology-trained nurses who help with scheduling, finding the right specialist, and guidance – can help you through the process.
Call us directly or submit a form, and we will call you back.
Why Choose Siteman for Breast Cancer Care?
WashU Medicine physicians and scientists at Siteman Cancer Center are pioneers in many aspects of breast cancer diagnosis, care, and research. Here, you have access to a nationally recognized, experienced, and compassionate team that only focuses on breast cancer — including surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, and geneticists who work together to determine your risk, identify the best treatment plan, and care for you throughout your journey.
When it comes to treatment options, Siteman has the widest range and most advanced available, including surgery, cryoablation, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted radiation therapies, and state-of-the-art immunotherapies and cancer vaccines. We also offer multiple clinical trials that evaluate new therapies for breast cancer treatment.
If you desire breast reconstruction surgery, we have the expertise to perform reconstruction and insertion of implants at the same time as your surgery to treat cancer. We also offer advanced procedures, including partial breast reconstruction after lumpectomy.
Experts in Breast Cancer
Many of the WashU Medicine physicians and scientists at Siteman were the first to develop and advance novel procedures for breast cancer. Among them:
- Set the new standard and created a 50+-gene genomic test known as the Prosigna assay that enables oncologists to classify breast cancer into genetic subtypes and helps to determine whether you need chemotherapy after surgery or if you require more aggressive, targeted treatments. The test, pioneered here at WashU Medicine, is now widely accepted as the clinical standard for personalizing breast cancer care.
- First in the world to sequence the entire genetic code of a cancer patient, which laid the groundwork for more personalized treatments for all cancers that enable doctors to target specific gene mutations in your tumor(s).
- First in the world to develop and use MRI-guided radiation therapy, which allows doctors to see a tumor in real time while it is being treated and adjust radiation areas as your organs shift and you breathe.
- Invented Medical Vision Goggles also known as the Fluorescence Imaging Augmented Reality Raspberry Pi-based system (FAR-Pi), that helps surgeons see in real time cancer cells that have been dyed with an imaging agent. The high-tech goggles help surgeons minimize the removal of healthy tissue around a tumor.
- Lead the world in pioneering personalized cancer vaccines that are customized to everyone’s genetic signature. That’s good news because each cancer can be unique to each person.
- Discovered a way to use light-activated nanoparticles to deliver chemotherapy directly into cancer cells deep inside the body.
- Nationally recognized center for the use of cryoablation, which is a non-surgical treatment option that freezes tumors and destroys cancer cells.
- The only center in the region offering hyperthermia, which heats tumor cells to make them more sensitive to radiation and chemotherapy.
At Siteman Cancer Center, we are constantly advancing research to improve treatment options and overall quality of life for breast cancer. When you want the best, we are here for you.
