World-Class Breast Cancer Care, Right in Your Neighborhood
At El Camino Health, we are known for exceptional breast cancer care. Our unique combination of advanced therapies, technology, and clinical expertise has transformed the care experience and dramatically improved patient outcomes. We provide the most advanced treatment in one of the most caring environments available in the Bay Area – right in your neighborhood.
Leading-Edge Technologies and Therapies
El Camino Health uses the most advanced breast cancer treatment options available, including many that are only found in academic institutions.
- Surgery: Breast conservation, mastectomy, reconstruction.
- Targeted therapies: Hormone, biologic and chemotherapy.
- Innovative radiation therapy: Leading-edge tools, including Varian’s Ethos™ Adaptive Intelligence™ solution, provide more precise treatment and reduce damage to healthy tissue. We are the first health system in California to offer it.
- Clinical trials: Access to the latest treatments, technologies, preventive therapies, and diagnostic techniques.
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Award-Winning Care
Our Cancer Center earns accolades from patients, their families, and independent organizations recognizing superior care.
Patient-Centric, Seamlessly Coordinated Care
Our doctors collaborate on each case to develop a personalized care plan uniquely for you. Additionally, they make themselves accessible to their patients at all times by providing patients with their personal cell phone information.
Our support services are extensive and ensure the best physical and emotional experience possible:
- Nutrition counseling: Available during and after treatment.
- Wellness services: Art therapy, yoga and meditation, laughter yoga and more.
- Support groups: Options for young adults, men with prostate cancer, and more.
- Survivorship program: Support for patients as they transition out of treatment.
Learn more about our oncologists.
Outstanding Outcomes
The Cancer Center at El Camino Health has achieved superior five-year survival rates against national benchmarks for breast cancer. Our results show our doctors’ commitment to battling this cancer, even stage III and IV.
Call for more information or for a referral to one of our oncologists.
Innovative, compassionate cancer care that’s close to home.
- Gold Medal Commendation from the Commission on Cancer American College of Surgeons
- Press Ganey 2021 Guardian of Excellence Award for patient experience in outpatient oncology
- ‘A’ grades from 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Program for both campuses
Laura Takes Charge of her High Risk for Breast Cancer
When Laura, mother of two, felt a lump in her breast, she assumed her milk ducts were clogged. She was about to stop breastfeeding her infant son and knew mastitis was often a side effect. But the lump didn’t go away. Two months later, she visited her gynecologist, who immediately sent her to Dr. Peter Naruns at El Camino Health for a biopsy.
In January 2017, Laura received a diagnosis of stage 3 invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) that involved several lymph nodes. She was also found to be BRCA2 positive — at very high risk for breast and ovarian cancer.
“I didn’t think at all about cancer,” recalls Laura. “I thought it was just a clogged milk duct. There was no pain so I thought it would go away.”
After the jolting diagnosis, things moved really fast. Dr. Naruns referred her to top oncologist, Dr. Shane Dormady, and his renowned team at El Camino Health. Laura and Dr. Dormady agreed on an aggressive treatment based on her age (39) and stage. It would include chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, radiation, menopausal hormone therapy, and eventually, when Laura is ready, she will undergo surgical menopause.
As Laura recalls, “Dr. Dormady said, ‘So that we have the best chance of beating this, I’m going to throw it all at you,’ and we started with chemo right away to shrink the tumor.”
Swept Along on a Wave of Care
A month later, Laura was visiting the treatment center at Mountain View regularly for a dose dense regimen of the chemotherapy drugs Adriamycin and Cytoxan with Taxol (AC-T).
“The Cancer Center at Mountain View is such a great environment — nice, private and quiet,” shares Laura. “The nurses are outstanding, really knowledgeable. They knew how to help me with extra hydration and the right balance of meds to manage nausea. They get to know you and are so caring and supportive.”
Buoyed by Emotional Support and Meaningful Work
“I’d work all week except Thursdays, when I’d take off for chemo,” says Laura. She had just joined the team at Gilead Sciences as a research scientist working to develop investigational medicines in the formulation and process development group.
A Double Mastectomy, Radiation and Breast Reconstruction
In August, Dr. Naruns performed a skin and nipple-sparing surgery to remove the affected breast tissue. To prepare for breast reconstruction after radiation, Laura’s surgeons inserted temporary expanders to maintain breast shape in the absence of breast tissue.
One year after her diagnosis Laura was done with radiation and had permanent breast implant surgery. “I had a pretty quick recovery,” says Laura. “I only needed two weeks off.”
Treatment Continues, but Life Doesn’t Slow Down
Fast forward to present, Laura marvels that it’s been four years since her original diagnosis. Her son is now 5 and her daughter 9. “Life continues on as it must with children, school, marriage and my research work.”
Now at age 44, Laura has been put into menopause and is learning how to deal with that. “I have the body of an older lady now. Chemotherapy and the hormone therapy have impacted my bone density. I’m not as strong physically as I was before and need to start working out again regularly to build my muscles and bones back up,” says Laura.
After four years, however, her cancer journey isn’t over. Laura’s treatment plan includes menopausal hormone therapy for a total of 10 years and regular check-ins with Dr. Dormady and his team. Laura is choosing to undergo a total hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) with a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (the removal of both ovaries and both fallopian tubes) to further reduce her genetic cancer risk.
For the next few years, she will be relying on the support and the “awesome” experience she continues to have with El Camino Health.
A Patient's Story
Download El Camino Health’s 2021 Capabilities and Outcomes Breast Cancer Report to learn more.
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