Breast Cancer Center

Overview

■ Scope of service
Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death for women all over the world. It is the most common cancer in Thai women. Breast clinic gathers breast cancer specialists including breast surgeons, radiologists, anesthetists, medical oncologists, pathologists, multidisciplinary chemotherapy team , and multidisciplinary breast cancer team. The team provides consultation for breast cancer and screening for abnormalities.

■ Specialized service
1.Diagnosis of breast cancer by Digital Mammogram & Breast Ultrasound
- Digital Mammogram is a special x-ray machine that can detect breast cancer in early stage, which is undetectable from physical examination. It shows the different density of each tissue e.g. breast tissue, blood vessels, fat, plague, calcification from early ductal carcinoma, or small tumor. It can also be used for follow-up after the surgery.
- Breast Ultrasound is the screening of breast cancer by radiologists using the high-frequency sound waves to diagnose abnormalities in young women. This can be an additional test from mammogram to differentiate cysts, and in the instances that the breasts are highly dense.

2. Breast Examination by Breast Surgeon

3. Self-Breast Examination. There are 2 simple methods to self-examine your breasts.
- Spiral Method. Starting from circulating your finger in wide radius on your breasts to check if there are anything unusual or hard spots, then narrowing the radius and continue until at least making 3 circles to the nipples. Repeat twice, one with a light pressure, the other with the deeper pressure.
- Grid Method is checking the breasts by dividing the area from collar bone to under the breasts and armpit, and to the sternum bone in a checkboard pattern. Circle the area with your finger in the spiral shape by applying light pressure first and again with deeper pressure. Repeat again in the next grid until you have covered all the area.

4. Fine Needle Biopsy is taking cells from the breasts by inserting a fine needle and examined in pathology lab to confirm if they are normal or cancerous cells.

5. Core Needle Biopsy is cutting tissue without surgery. The breast tissue is removed by an automatic biopsy gun. The tissue is then examined in pathology lab.

6. Needle Localization Biopsy. This procedure uses thin needles to guide wires to mark the location of abnormal tissue when it’s not palpable or detectable by mammogram. It’s used for excisional biopsy or lesions from early staged cancer.

7. Breast cancer surgery consists of 2 parts
7.1 Breast removal surgery
- Mastectomy is the removal of the entire breast including the nipple to ensure there’s no cancerous cell left.
- Breast Conserving Surgery is to remove only the part of breast that contains cancer. This method must be combined with radiotherapy (every day for 5 weeks approximately).
- Breast Reconstruction (TRAM Flap, LD Flap). There are 2 main types of surgery. For those who have undergone total mastectomy, the new breast can be reconstructed from the muscle and skin in your abdomen (TRAM flap). This procedure can be done simultaneously with the mastectomy surgery or afterward. The other type is using the muscle and fat from the upper lateral back (LD flap) to reconstruct the removed breast to resemble the normal breast. This is for patients whose major part of the breast has been removed and thus, deformed. There’s also breast reconstruction with silicone implant for those whose breast have been entirely removed and wish to reconstruct a new one.


7.2 Axillary Lymph Node Dissection. Historically, all breast cancer patients must surgically remove the entire lymph axillary lymph nodes. Some experienced adverse effects including swollen arm and numbness. However, there's another way.
- Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy is a new method of determining if the cancer has spread to the first lymph node. If the cancer isn’t found in the sentinel lymph node, then the rest of the lymph nodes don’t need to be removed.

Our facilities & medical technologies

1. Service center for diagnosis and screening of breast cancer, modern medical facilities.
2. Screening for breast cancer with digital mammogram. This is the latest technology of mammogram. It is a quick and convenient method yielding higher resolution images than normal x-ray machine. This is useful for patients who undergo screening by mammogram along with excisional biopsy.

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Location & Contact

Kasemrad Prachachuen Hospital
Surgery OPD clinic 2nd Floor Tel. 02-910-1600 ext. 1030, 1031