The Physicians at the Margie Petersen Breast Center Answer Challenging Questions Throughout the Month of October
October is breast cancer awareness month which signifies a time when someone who has been touched by breast cancer, or has a loved one touched by breast cancer, to celebrate, grieve, and participate in events as a community. The month is especially momentous when new innovations bring the treatment of this disease further. At Saint John’s Cancer Institute (SJCI), a new breast surgical oncology fellow has joined Margie Petersen Breast Center to further research in breast cancers. The Saint John’s Cancer Institute nurtures the next generations of surgical oncologists. Our fellows learn innovative surgical techniques and work in a multidisciplinary care team, but also conduct their own research.
This October, SJCI created a video series with insights from our breast experts. This blog will update weekly to represent a comprehensive “first-look” into The Margie Petersen Breast Center at Providence, Saint John’s Health Center. But more importantly, to give you a sneak preview into the women who comprise the best in breast health care.
Meet the incredibly talented, and caring experts of The Margie Petersen Breast Center: A Series!
This video series introduces you to: Dr. Janie Grumley, surgical oncologist, and program director of The Margie Petersen Breast Center; Dr. Crystal Fancher, surgical oncologist, and assistant professor of surgical oncology for the breast fellowship; Dr. Parvin Peddi, medical oncologist and director of breast medical oncology.
In an intimate setting at The Draycott restaurant in Pacific Palisades, produced by the Saint John’s Cancer Institute, breast experts chat candidly about the common myths surrounding breast cancer, questions patients are asking, and breast health. Learn more about their personalized health care mantra (how your overall experience should be).
Let’s get started!
The Breast Team will be discussing and answering questions relating to:
- Part 1 – Interdisciplinary, Personalized Care: How quickly can you get a work-up if you feel a lump?
- Part 2 – Breast Screening and Imaging: Why are mammograms just as important as an MRI?
- Part 3 – Family History and Genetics: Is family history a significant factor?
- Part 4 – Chemotherapy and Breast Cancer: When is Chemotherapy needed?
- Part 5 – Breast Cancer Surgery: Is mastectomy the best final option?
- Part 6 – Nutrition and Breast Cancer: What can women do to improve their health?
The breast clinic at The Margie Petersen Breast Center pushes for any woman who has fears feeling a lump in their breast to be able to get in quickly, get a work-up, and get answers to all their questions without the hassle of waiting weeks for an appointment to dispel worries of cancer.
Listen Now!
Part 1
Our patients are so grateful that they have time to talk with us.
– Janie Grumley, MD
Dr. Grumley and Dr. Peddi discuss personalized care at Margie Petersen Breast Center.
Part 2
When should you start screening for breast cancer?
– Parvin Peddi, MD
Dr. Grumley and Dr. Peddi compare which screening methods are best for early detection.
Part 3
But there are those who have a genetically-linked cancer and we want to identify those.
– Janie Grumley, MD
Dr. Grumley and Dr. Peddi reveal the true relation to family history and define both meanings for ‘gene mutation.’
What are the Screening Guidelines for Breast Cancer?
Different organizations say different things when it comes to the screening age for breast cancer because the guidelines consistently change. If you are thinking of getting screening for breast cancer and wonder if you should get a mammogram, an MRI, or an ultrasound, then the second video listed is for you. Dr. Peddi suggests to a smiling Dr. Grumley that the radiation delivered in a mammogram is minute compared to the level of concern a women may have; they further discuss topic in detail above.
Part 4
You do not need to throw the kitchen sink at this. You need to be targeted…give people exactly what they need, not more not less.
– Parvin Peddi, MD
Dr. Grumley and Dr. Peddi discuss chemotherapy, when it is needed, and how targeted thereapies improve outcomes.
Part 5
My favorite phrase in training is, there’s no surgery like no surgery and it’s like that with most therapy if you don’t need it, why do it?
– Janie Grumley, MD
Doctors, Janie Grumley, Parvin Peddi, and Crystal Fancher, discuss breast cancer surgery, decisions surrounding single and double mastectomy, and oncoplastic techniques that have given women greater options and better post-surgical results.
Part 6
I think that really the focus is not about specifically what to exclude, or what to include, it’s just more about that balance healthy diet…more fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a steak.
– Crystal Fancher, MD
Doctors, Janie Grumley, Parvin Peddi, and Crystal Fancher, provide the best approach when it comes to diet and breast cancer, discussing myths and misnomers of a variety of foods.
Watch all 6 parts on YouTube!
- Click here to watch the entire series playlist on YouTube. Don’t forget to subscribe!
The Margie Petersen Breast Center provides screening and treatment for a variety of breast conditions including cancer.