At the Comprehensive Breast Health Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, our world-class physicians and health care professionals are able to promptly serve women who have breast conditions that require further evaluation.
Evaluating the cause of the concern and answering your questions in a timely manner is our top priority. We are a diagnostic center for women who need prompt attention for the evaluation of breast lumps, an abnormal mammogram, nipple discharge or other breast problems.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital has a long history of serving women — more than a century — and, over the years, we have developed one of the most comprehensive approaches to women’s health in the region.
The Comprehensive Breast Health Center continues this tradition of excellence and furthers our commitment to women and their good health.
Our Philosophy
It is the philosophy of the Comprehensive Breast Health Center that no woman should have to wait and worry that a symptom she is experiencing may be breast cancer. The overwhelming majority of breast-related disorders that a woman may develop will not be breast cancer, but waiting to find out can be frightening.
The Center ensures that your appointment will be promptly scheduled with one of our breast specialists to reduce that time spent in uncertainty. If it is shown that you do have breast cancer, you and your physician can begin to plan your care right away.
Our Services
In evaluating breast conditions, the physicians of the Comprehensive Breast Health Center utilize a variety or resources based on the patient’s specific needs. Some of these resources include:
The Initial Evaluation
The cornerstone of breast health is the physical exam. At the Comprehensive Breast Health Center, a breast specialist will perform an examination. Physical examination findings can be evaluated further through mammography, ultrasound or ductography where appropriate.
State-of-the-Art Diagnostic Procedures
If your breast specialist recommends a biopsy for further evaluation, the Center offers state-of-the-art procedures – some pioneered at Brigham and Women’s Hospital – and equipment to perform whatever type of biopsy will be most effective for your situation.
- Stereotactic Core Needle Breast Biopsy – This biopsy is employed in situations when the physician can see an abnormality on a mammogram but cannot feel it with a breast exam. With the procedure, the mammogram guides the radiologist in precisely locating the area to be biopsied with a core needle.
- Ultrasound Guided Core Needle Biopsy – This technique is utilized when a mass is either felt or unable to be felt, and can be visualized on ultrasound. The ultrasound assists the radiologist in precisely confirming the location for biopsy with the core needle. More than 9,000 women who have come to Brigham and Women’s Hospital over the past 13 years have undergone a core needle biopsy, a procedure that has been proven to be accurate in the diagnosis of breast cancer and benign abnormalities. The experience at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, one of the largest in the world, has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
- Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy – This can be performed when a breast mass is easily felt by the breast surgeon and can be done in the office. A slender needle is inserted into the area of concern and either fluid from a cyst is aspirated, or a small amount of tissue is extracted. The tissue sample can be immediately reviewed by a cytologist and results are usually available that day or the following day.
These three approaches are performed in the outpatient setting using local anesthesia and do not require the traditional incision with stitches. Not all women are candidates for these procedures and your physician may recommend an open surgical biopsy.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) – A breast MRI is yet another state-of-the-art imaging procedure used for some patients of the Comprehensive Breast Health Center. Breast MRI is a “high-tech” way of visualizing the breast without radiation. With the breast MRI, a dye is injected into the patient through a vein in her arm. The dye makes a tumor much brighter than the surrounding breast tissue and therefore visible on the MRI scan. A breast MRI can be used when there is suspicion of a tumor that is not showing up during a physical exam and mammography (occult breast cancer). It also may be needed to determine the size and extent of a known tumor and is the best way of imaging the breasts of women with implants when implant rupture is a concern. A breast MRI requires a dedicated breast-imaging coil (imaging equipment designed for breast scanning) and, for patients at the Comprehensive Breast Health Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is performed on a 1.5 Tesla system (Tesla describes the strength of the magnetic field) – the strongest used in clinical practice. Patients of the Center who have breast MRI can expect it to be completed within 45 minutes and receive the results from the procedure in two to three days. Used in conjunction with mammography and ultrasound, breast MRI can be a powerful “problem-solving” tool for some patients who come to the Comprehensive Breast Health Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Continuum of Breast Care
At the Comprehensive Breast Health Center, we will coordinate the seamless transition of your care with your referring physician.
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Screening Mammography Locations
Annually for all women age 40+
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
75 Francis Street
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 732-6248
Brigham and Women’s Ambulatory Care Center
850 Boylston Street
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
(617) 278-0560
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Brigham and Women’s Hospital Comprehensive Breast Health Center
For women needing special evaluation
Comprehensive care and services, including:
– Physical Exam
– Mammography
– Ductography
– Ultrasound
– Breast MRI
– Fine Needle Biopsy
– Core Needle Biopsy
– Surgery
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Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center
For women with a diagnosis of breast cancer
Cancer care and treatment for:
– Breast Cancer
– Gynecologic Cancer
Our staff provide the following services:
– Surgical Oncology
– Medical Oncology
– Radiation Oncology
– Reconstructive Surgery
– Psychiatry
– Reproductive Endocrinology
– Genetic Counseling
– Social Work
– Support Groups
– Nutrition Evaluation
– Educational Programs
75 Francis Street
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 732-8111
44 Binney Street
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 632-4800
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Patient Education
The Comprehensive Breast Health Center is committed to patient education. Our goal is to provide you with the information you need to make the health care decisions and choices that are best for you. Our physicians and nurses are here to answer all of your questions.
Patient education is a key component of all our care plans and that is why our resource room, located in the Center, has videos, pamphlets and books on breast health as well as models on which to practice a breast self-exam.
Our Staff
The Comprehensive Breast Health Center features a multidisciplinary team of breast surgery and breast imaging experts, nurses and support staff.
The breast specialists at the Comprehensive Breast Health Center have dual appointments at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, both teaching affiliates of Harvard Medical School. They are active in clinical research and basic science research.
The nursing staff is comprised of two certified nurse practitioners, one of whom is also the nurse program manager. The nurses work with the physicians to provide education, post-operative care, coordination of outside resources and emotional support for the Center’s patients.
In addition, the nurse practitioners specialize in the evaluation and management of patients with breast-related concerns and are available for an initial evaluation.
Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center
Partnership in Cancer Care
Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center brings together a unique combination of resources to fight and defeat cancer. For those patients who do develop cancer, we have 12 specialized centers devoted to helping fight each type of cancer.
The Gillette Centers for Women’s Cancers of Dana Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center has redefined care for women with breast and gynecologic cancers. The Center offers an unprecedented array of comprehensive services to meet the varied needs of women with these diseases, as well as women who are concerned about their risk.
Multidisciplinary care at the Center can involve the services of a:
- Surgical oncologist
- Medical oncologist
- Radiation oncologist
- Mammographer
- Pathologist
- Reproductive endocrinologist
- Psychiatrist
- Social worker
- Genetic counselor
- Dietitian
Complimentary medicine may also be used with standard treatments.
For more information
For more information on the Comprehensive Breast Health Center, call (617) 732-8111.
