M Health Fairview Cancer Care offers breast cancer patients a comprehensive and individualized care plan. Whether patients come to us with an early-stage diagnosis or advanced stage breast cancer, our care teams have the experience and expertise to offer patients the latest in breast cancer care.

Successful patient outcomes are absolutely dependent on the expertise of a truly multi-disciplinary care team for all aspects in care. This includes surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, and also our extensive supportive care team, which covers all aspects of mind, body, and wellness care. Our team is consistently at the forefront of emerging technologies and methods, often developing new methods which are then adopted as a standard of care.

Award-winning care

Our program is consistently recognized for its commitment to quality, patient experience and outcomes. Our breast cancer doctors consistently appear on the “Top Doctors” and “Best Doctors” lists through Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine and Minnesota Monthly Magazine (respectively).

Our program also holds accreditation from the American Society of Clinical Oncology recognizing those health care organizations upholding the highest standards in quality of care.

Pioneers in breast cancer treatment

Our physicians are pioneers in the systemic (whole-body) treatment of breast cancer, including the use of hormone therapy. Our surgeons were among the first to develop and test sentinel lymph node staging, which reduces the side effects of breast cancer surgery.

As an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center, we are at the forefront of research into how to best treat breast cancer. We are one of only 17 centers in the United States participating in the I-SPY 2 clinical trial to speed the testing of new drugs for women with high-risk, rapidly growing breast cancer.

Many new research projects are focused on finding a patient’s (or in some cases, a cancer tumor’s) specific genetic markers to help our doctors choose the best treatments for each individual.

Supplemental or hormone therapies

Often, women are given hormone therapy to either enhance the effects of traditional therapies (like chemotherapy), or to prevent breast cancer from occurring or reoccurring. We do this by giving our patients medicines to block certain hormones, like estrogen, in women who have a specific type of breast cancer.

Life after breast cancer treatment

Depending on the type of cancer and treatment received, breast cancer survivors may or may not be at risk for developing late effects. The most common seen late effects for breast cancer patients include secondary cancers, cardiopulmonary issues, and bone problems. The Cancer Survivor Program is available to breast cancer survivors who are three or more years out of treatment, regardless of age, diagnosis, or where they received cancer treatment.