Rachel Greenup, MD, MPH, is chief of Breast Surgical Oncology at Smilow Cancer Hospital and specializes in treating benign breast diseases as well as breast cancer, which she calls a common but complicated diagnosis.
Given the different types of breast cancer and different treatments, Dr. Greenup says she wholeheartedly believes in patient-centered cancer care. “Women are often the decision makers and the centers of their families, and they come to us with partners, spouses, children, parents that are there to support them through their diagnosis,” she says. “One of the best parts of being a breast surgical oncologist is participating in true shared decisions with women and their families in terms of identifying a treatment plan that is tailored for them and works for them and their lives.”
At the Smilow Cancer Center, Dr. Greenup says patients benefit from subspecialists in surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, pathology, breast imaging, and breast reconstruction. “We also have social support services through Smilow Cancer Center that really provides tailored care to women with breast cancer,” she says. “The literature is quite clear that treatment at a high-volume center does improve patient outcomes and the quality of treatment women have along the way.”
Fortunately, so many women are diagnosed with breast cancer at a very early stage, that it’s curable and treatable, she adds. “I think we've come a really long way in the last 50 years allowing women to remain whole and both physically and emotionally as they are treated for breast cancer without compromising an excellent cancer outcomes,” Dr. Greenup says. “The best part of my job is being able to meet women at the time of a really scary diagnosis and take them to surgery and physically remove their disease. And then, see them a year or two later when they're healthy and back to their life.”
Dr. Greenup’s research focuses on the burden of cancer care on patients as they go through treatment and beyond. “This includes the financial burden, the disruption to their employment or their family structure, and number of appointments they come into, the number of times they have to take days off work and thinking about how we can potentially reduce the burden for our patients while also preserving resources for the population as a whole.”
