Hospital da Luz Coimbra has now available the Breast Centre , with a team gathering physicians from different specialities . Its coordinators are Cristina Frutuoso (Gynaecology and Oncologic Gynaecology), Nascimento Costa (Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology) and Paulo Gil Agostinho (Radiology). This centre “integrates specialists dedicated to breast pathology and ensures the means necessary for the diagnosis and therapeutic guidance of the patient with breast cancer and benign or risk pathology”, explains Cristina Frutuoso. “In breast cancer, this approach tends to be more and more individualized, according to the type of tumour and the characteristics of the patient” , she adds. The areas of treatment in the Breast Centre include: Gynaecology; Medical Oncology; Radiotherapy; Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery; Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. The areas of diagnosis in the Breast Centre include: Radiology; Nuclear Medicine; Pathological Anatomy. Whenever necessary, the centre counts with the additional collaboration of specialists from other areas , such as Psycho-Oncology, Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery. Cristina Frutuoso further refers that presently, in the area of Surgery,” the extended resection of tumours is safe, provided that it is complemented with radiotherapy”. Additionally, the analysis of axillary ganglia is done, whenever possible, by biopsy of the sentinel ganglion, which does not imply the complications associated with axillary drainage. Thus, the most frequent surgical procedures in breast cancer are the extended tumoral exeresis, including techniques of oncoplasty and breast symmetrisation, associated to ganglion biopsy. In the area of Radiology , the Breast Centre from Hospital da Luz Coimbra offers the complementary exams necessary to the diagnosis of breast diseases, namely: Mammography with tomosynthesis: Mammary ultrasound; Magnetic resonance; Ultrasound-guided biopsy; Stereotaxy; Other procedures associated with breast diseases. “Based on the characteristics of the tumour, the type of treatment is decided. Very often, there is the necessity to resort to chemotherapy, which can occur before or after surgery, according to the size and type of tumour. It may be necessary solely hormone therapy, solely chemotherapy, chemotherapy and antibodies, or the three groups of therapeutic agents. These treatments can also be performed in this Breast Centre”, concludes Cristina Frutuoso. In the photo above, Paulo Aldinhas Santos, Cristina Frutuoso, Paulo Gil Agostinho, Rita Sousa and Olga Caramelo, specialists from the Breast Centre.
