September 30, 1997
Media Contact: Karen Infeld
Phone: (410)955-1534
E-mail:kinfeld@welchlink.welch.jhu.edu

The Johns Hopkins Breast Center has been named one of "America's 10 Best Breast Cancer Centers" by Self magazine. It is the only center of its kind in the Baltimore/Washington area to make the list.

In the magazine's October 1997 issue, the editors praised Hopkins for its strong focus on patient education and empowerment.

"We are extremely pleased that Self magazine recognizes our efforts in these areas," says William Dooley, M.D., Breast Center director. "We believe that our patients should be an equal partner in choosing their cancer treatments, without being told what to do by physicians or insurers.

"We also pride ourselves on meeting the psychosocial needs of our patients and their family members through individual and family counseling."

With more than 600 new breast cancer patients a year, the Hopkins center features a multidisciplinary team of medical, surgical and radiation oncologists, plastic surgeons, radiologists and nurse practitioners to provide patients with the most advanced diagnostic, surgical and reconstructive techniques available. More than 80 percent of all diagnoses are made without surgery.

Breast center services include:

Specialized diagnostic evaluation and testing, including radiological evaluation; mammography and ultrasound imaging; and fine-needle, core-needle and surgical biopsy.

Consultation and treatment with oncologists specializing in surgery, including breast-conserving approaches, and drug and radiation therapy, including computer-assisted treatment planning.

Access to National Cancer Institute-sponsored clinical trials.

Preventive services, such as genetic counseling and risk assessments based on family history.

A "Pampered Patient Program," which enables patients wishing more privacy after surgery to stay in a local hotel the day after surgery, with evening and morning visits from a home health nurse and catered meals.

For more information about the Hopkins center or to make an appointment, call 410-955-4851.

The 10 best centers, selected for their state-of-the-art diagnosis and treatment and for being at the leading edge of research, "address a patient's mind and spirit, as well as her body," the magazine states. "Offering much more than the standard support groups, they employ an array of mind-body approaches in dealing with disease and treatment."

The other centers in the magazine's top 10 list are located at the following medical centers: Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, Long Beach, Calif.; Magee-Womens Hospital and University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute; Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, N.J.; Saint John's Health Center, Santa Monica, Calif.; H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, Fla.; St. John Regional Health Center, Springfield, Mo.; The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston; Iris Cantor Diagnostic Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York; and a three-way tie in Boston among Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Gillette Centers for Women's Cancers, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital.

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