Our Breast Cancer Services

At UPMC, our surgical, radiation, and medical oncologists work together to develop a personalized breast cancer treatment plan for you. We offer a full range of services and use a combination of therapies to treat all types and stages of breast cancer, optimizing your care to give you the best possible chance of a positive outcome.

What We Offer

We offer comprehensive treatment for all types and stages of breast cancer.

Our breast cancer treatment services include:

Surgical oncology for breast cancer

Surgery is a common treatment for breast cancer and other benign (noncancerous) breast tumors. At UPMC, our dedicated breast surgeons use highly specialized technology and minimally invasive techniques to remove all types of breast tumors.

If you are diagnosed with breast cancer or another type of benign breast tumor, your breast surgeon may recommend:

• Lumpectomy — Also known as breast-conserving surgery or partial mastectomy, lumpectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the part of your breast with a cancerous tumor and some healthy surrounding tissue.
• Mastectomy — A surgical procedure to remove the entire breast. When both breasts are removed, it is known as a double mastectomy.

Our team also performs lymph node surgical procedures to determine whether cancer has spread and tumor localization procedures to mark the tumor site before a breast biopsy.

Our breast surgical oncologists work closely with radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, and plastic surgeons specializing in breast reconstruction to coordinate additional treatments and care.

Medical oncology for breast cancer

Medical oncology for breast cancer involves using different types of anti-cancer medications to slow or stop breast cancer growth.

Medical oncology treatments may include:

• Chemotherapy — Uses medications that travel through your bloodstream and kill cancer cells throughout your body.
• Hormone therapy — Slows or stops cancer growth by preventing hormones from attaching to the breast cancer cells.
• Immunotherapy — Uses medications to boost your immune system’s ability to identify and kill cancer cells.
• Targeted therapy — Works similarly to antibodies produced naturally by your immune system to identify and attack cancer cells.

Medical oncology treatment may be administered before or after surgery, or as a long-term treatment to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence.

Radiation oncology for breast cancer

Radiation oncology is a medical specialty that uses radiation therapy to kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy for breast cancer involves using high-energy x-rays to precisely target your tumor. It may be used alone or in combination with other treatments to effectively treat breast cancer.

Radiation oncology treatment options for breast cancer include:

• Accelerated partial breast radiation — Delivers radiation to only the area surrounding the tumor, where breast cancer is most likely to recur. Types of accelerated partial breast radiation include intracavitary breast radiation, MammoSite^®, Contura^®, and Savi^®.
• Breast brachytherapy — A type of internal radiation therapy (high-dose rate brachytherapy) that is used after a lumpectomy. The treatment involves using a radioactive seed to deliver radiation directly to the tumor.
• External beam radiation — Special machines are used to administer a high dose of radiation directly to the cancer site. Types of external beam radiation include image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).
• Hypofractionated (short-course) breast radiation — Delivers radiation in a four-week course, instead of a six-week course, for select patients.

Supportive Services for Breast Cancer

Supportive services for people with breast cancer address concerns beyond the physical effects of the disease.

Supportive services include:

• Behavioral medicine — Psychologists and psychiatrists can help you create a plan for coping with the challenges of breast cancer.
• Breast cancer pain management — Pain management experts will work with your care team to relieve pain from breast cancer treatment.
• Interpreter services — Interpreters help patients with language barriers understand and navigate the cancer treatment process.
• Nutrition for breast cancer — Our diet and nutrition experts design meal plans to help you regain strength or support your health.
• Palliative care — Palliative care can be delivered alongside curative treatments or after treatments have stopped to improve quality of life for people with breast cancer.
• Social support — Social workers can help you manage the practical aspects of living with breast cancer.

Clinical trials for breast cancer

UPMC experts participate in national, multicenter clinical trials studying promising medical, surgical, and radiation oncology treatments for breast cancer.

That means you can participate in research that has the potential to advance breast cancer care and access groundbreaking treatments years before they are available to the public. Your doctor will let you know if a clinical trial may be an option for you.

Why Choose UPMC for Breast Cancer Care? 

When you choose UPMC for breast cancer care, you will receive:

• Comprehensive breast cancer expertise — The breast cancer experts at UPMC provide state-of-the-art care for every form of breast cancer at every stage of disease.
• Personalized, collaborative care — Our surgical, medical, and radiation oncologists work with your primary care doctor to plan the best course of therapy for you.
• Supportive services tailored to your needs — Our approach to breast cancer care honors your preferences by blending advanced clinical methods with supportive services for the best possible results.

By UPMC Editorial Staff. Last reviewed on 2025-09-18.