MULTIDISCIPLINARY BREAST CLINIC

OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY


In oncology the word "multidisciplinary" means more than multiple specialties becoming involved in the patient’s care. It implies an actual cooperation between the specialties to reach an agreement on diagnosis and a consensus on the treatment plan. Multidisciplinary treatment is thus based on state-of-the-art knowledge, and is tailored for the patient’s particular clinical needs. Such individualized, expert care is especially essential for the ever-increasing challenges of breast disease, both benign and malignant. With two thirds of all American women suffering at one time or another from fibrocystic breast complaints, and with the alarming rise in breast cancer incidence (now the most common cancer in women, striking one in nine women sometime during their lives), the team approach is essential for these conditions.

Accordingly, in April, 1991, the Division of Women’s Imaging asked the Section of Surgical Oncology to help in the formation of an OHSU women’s breast care clinic. After several planning meetings, which also involved the departments of Medical Oncology, Plastic Surgery, Radiation Oncology, and Surgical Pathology, the "OHSU Multidisciplinary Breast Clinic" opened its doors in October, 1991. The clinic is currently staffed by Dr. Rodney Pommier and Dr. John Vetto. Breast Clinic is held Tuesday afternoons from 1:00pm to 5:00pm and Thursdays from 8:30am to 5:00pm and has grown from a handful of patients at the onset to a regular weekly census of 35-45 patients per clinic.