FIGHT CANCER

with a team of breast cancer experts

Texas Oncology provides comprehensive breast cancer care for women and men from a collaborative team of physicians and other support team members who are dedicated to diagnosing and treating your breast cancer. Our multidisciplinary team of specialists provide a seamless continuum of care across a variety of treatments and services.

Meet The Team Treatments Services

Our team has years of extensive experience in treating breast cancer, and you are their sole focus. Our multidisciplinary team treats the whole person, not just the disease, customizing treatments around your specific needs. We provide support services to help meet the personal challenges you may face. And our nurse navigator will guide you through the coordination of your care, acting as your advocate, and go-to resource during your treatment.

Comprised of a breast surgeon, medical oncologists, a radiation oncologist, nurse navigator, social worker, and other support team members, our allied group of physicians are dedicated to diagnosing and treating diseases and disorders of the breast – both cancerous and benign. At Texas Oncology–Houston Medical Center, we take a team approach so that patients can receive everything from breast imaging and diagnostics to surgical therapy and complete breast cancer treatment services all while working with the Texas Oncology care team. Our comprehensive cancer center is staffed with knowledgeable and supportive teams providing surgical care, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and other vital services. Diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, and a pharmacy are also close-at-hand to make the process more manageable.

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At Texas Oncology–Sugar Land, we take a team approach so that patients can receive everything from diagnostics to surgical therapy and complete breast cancer treatment services. Comprised of a medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, breast surgeon, nurse navigator, advanced practice provider, and social worker, our clinical team is dedicated to diagnosing and treating diseases and disorders of the breast – both cancerous and benign. Patients have access to surgical care, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and other vital services. Laboratory services and a pharmacy are also close-at-hand to make the process more manageable.

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Patients have access to comprehensive care including surgery, medical oncology, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy – all from your Texas Oncology care team.

Medical Oncology

Medical oncology focuses on diagnosing your breast cancer, developing your treatment plan, and coordinating your overall care.

Your medical oncologist on your breast cancer treatment team is responsible for:

Managing your breast cancer treatment plan and therapies
Monitoring and evaluating your progress
Collaborating with other medical professionals to determine your treatment options
Consulting with you about your treatment choices and treatment side effects you may experience
Providing medical guidance to help you make informed decisions
Connecting you and your family to support services that meet your educational, emotional, and financial needs during treatment

Advanced practice providers may work with your medical oncologist to assist in providing your breast cancer care.

Surgery

Nearly all women with breast cancer will undergo some kind of surgery as part of their treatment and/or diagnosis. The extent of surgery for breast cancer may range from removal of only a small piece of breast tissue to removing one or both breasts, including underarm (axillary) lymph nodes. The purpose of surgery in the management of breast cancer is to:

Obtain a tissue sample for determining an accurate diagnosis.
Determine the stage of the cancer and whether additional treatment is necessary.
Treat the cancer locally

As a Texas Oncology patient, you have access to leading surgical specialists. If your cancer treatment plan calls for surgical procedures, you will have the advantage of your medical oncologist and radiation oncologist working closely with your surgical specialist. This teamwork brings you multiple opinions and coordinated treatment for your total well-being.

Radiation Therapy

The objective of radiation therapy to the breast is to kill cancer cells that could otherwise persist after therapy and cause breast cancer to relapse locally in the breast, surrounding chest wall, or axilla. Radiation therapy uses high energy X-rays to kill cancer cells that remain in the breast or surrounding lymph nodes after surgery. Radiation therapy is almost always utilized as part of the overall breast-conserving strategy because radiation decreases the risk of local cancer recurrence and improves survival.

The Paxman Scalp Cooling System

This is a simple treatment that can help prevent chemotherapy-induced hair loss. The cooling cap reduces the temperature of the scalp a few degrees immediately before, during, and after the administration of chemotherapy, reducing the blood flow to the hair follicles to prevent chemotherapy from damaging them. Patients undergo scalp cooling each time they have a chemotherapy infusion. The average cooling time is two and a half hours, including 30 minutes of pre-infusion cooling, cooling during infusion, and 90 minutes of post-infusion cooling.

Chemotherapy

Your medical oncologist may recommend chemotherapy as part of your breast cancer treatment plan. Chemotherapy is a group of medicines used to treat cancer. While surgery and radiation therapy target specific areas of the body, chemotherapy works systemically (throughout the body). Chemotherapy can also destroy cancer cells that have metastasized to parts of the body away from the original tumor site.
There are many variables to chemotherapy:

More than 100 different drugs are used in chemotherapy.
You may receive a single drug or a combination of drugs. Depending on your combination of drugs, your chemotherapy treatment session may last a few minutes to a few hours.
You may receive chemotherapy as an injection, a pill, or an IV infusion.

Chemotherapy is administered by nursing professionals under the direction of your medical oncologist. Our pharmacists and nurses are highly trained in the preparation and management of chemotherapy–related drugs.

Gynecologic Oncology

Gynecologic oncology focuses on treating pelvis and female reproductive cancers, including ovarian, cervical, endometrial, vulvar, and vaginal cancers.

Our gynecologic oncologists provide thorough evaluations and treatment plans for cancers and precancerous lesions. We also evaluate women at high risk for gynecologic cancers because of their personal and family history. If you need surgery, we use minimally invasive, laparoscopic, or robotic techniques whenever possible.

We work closely with your primary care physicians to provide you the best care possible from diagnosis through survivorship.

Colon & Rectal Surgery

Colon and rectal specialists diagnose and treat benign and malignant conditions of the colon, rectum, and anus. The board-certified physicians of Texas Colon & Rectal Specialists, a part of Texas Oncology, focus on surgical and non-surgical management of colon and rectal cancer and conditions. With several physicians and numerous locations across Houston, our specialty physicians combine their expertise and high quality of care to deliver strong patient outcomes, consistently exceeding national benchmarks.

Texas Oncology patients have access to comprehensive care including a nurse navigator, genetic risk evaluation and testing, laboratory services, pharmacy services, social work, and other support services — all under one roof.

Nurse Navigator

One of the ways Texas Oncology offers comprehensive care is through a dedicated breast cancer nurse navigator. The nurse navigator is dedicated to helping patients with breast cancer navigate the complex healthcare system. Think of her as your advocate and go-to resource during treatment. A nurse navigator can:

Provide patient education on a wide range of topics, including general information about your cancer, treatment side effects, next steps, and more
Answer general questions about treatment options, including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy
Coordinate care with your healthcare team
Schedule appointments for you
Direct you to healthcare services for further diagnosis and treatment
Direct you to local resources and support

Genetic Risk Evaluation & Testing Program

The Genetic Risk Evaluation and Testing (GREAT) Program at Texas Oncology provides in-depth cancer risk evaluations. Each one of our patients receives an analysis and evaluation from our healthcare team of oncologists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, genetic counselors, or certified nurse specialists who have received special training in cancer genetics. Genetic testing can help you and your family understand your risk for getting certain cancers. By knowing about these risks, you have an opportunity to prevent cancer or to detect it at an early stage. Early detection can protect your health and even saves lives. Genetic testing is a blood test that looks for changes in your DNA that can show a higher risk of developing certain cancers. This testing can help us understand what types of cancers you and your family members have a higher risk to develop.

Research & Clinical Trials

Texas Oncology participates in national clinical trials, and our research has played a pivotal role in developing more than 100 of the latest FDA-approved cancer drugs. Texas Oncology patients may be eligible to take part in these innovative clinical trials.