New Comprehensive Breast Care Center Opens in New York City

NEW YORK--A new breast care center in New York City is offering same-day diagnosis, consultation with an on-site reconstructive surgeon, and an array of innovative services.

The St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Comprehensive Breast Center has on-site radiology, pathology, and consultation services, and offers fine-needle biopsies in addition to mammography, making it possible for malignancy to be confirmed or ruled out and treatment options, including plastic surgery, outlined in a single visit.

The center also offers genetic testing, social work and psychiatric services, support groups, and a resource center that provides patients access to books, periodicals, the Internet, and videotapes.

Nurses and physician assistants coordinate patient visits, and breast cancer survivors are available to mentor patients through their treatments. Patients may also be referred for complementary therapies such as Tibetan and Chinese medicine and yoga. In fact, the center was designed according to the principles of Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese practice of constructing an interior to harmonize with the flow of the earth’s energy.

Alison Estabrook, MD, a pioneer in the use of fine-needle aspiration, is the director of the new center. She is also chief of Breast Disease Services at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt’s Department of Surgery and associate director of the Cancer Center at Beth Israel Medical Center. Beth Israel and St. Luke’s-Roosevelt are affiliated through Continuum Health Partners. Mark Sultan, MD, chief of Beth Israel’s Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, is also on the staff.

Dr. Estabrook said that the center "is the future of how all breast cancer patients will be treated--a combination of 21st century technology and convenience within a caring environment."