Our Medical Director:
Cary Kaufman M.D., F.A.C.S, is an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Washington and the Medical Director of the Bellingham Breast Center. He was trained at the University of Washington and UCLA. As a breast surgeon and specialist with 31 years experience, his professional life focuses on individual patient care, with special interests in research, teaching and community education. Dr. Kaufman has published over 25 peer-reviewed articles and lectured on varied aspects of breast care both nationally and internationally. Most recently he has returned from teaching in India and China. He has lectured on the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, including 13 years speaking in many teaching conferences with Laszlo Tabar, M.D, the internationally renowned mammographer.
Dr. Kaufman is very interested in quality of care for breast cancer patients. He is the incoming Chairman of the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, a program of the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Kaufman is a recent Past-President of the National Consortium of Breast Centers (NCBC) from 2002-2005. He is on the Board of Directors of the NCBC and Co-Chairman of the Quality Initiative Committee. He is a Board Member of the American Society of Breast Surgeons and Chairman of the Corporate Relations Committee. He is a member of the Society of Surgical Oncology, is on the editorial review board of the American Journal of Clinical Oncology and The Breast Journal and is on the National Ultrasound Faculty of the American College of Surgeons. He has published articles on several aspects of breast care, diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Kaufman has pioneered the use of cryoablation (cold therapy) for treatment of benign and malignant breast tumors and is participating in the ongoing ACOSOG trial for use of cryoablation for breast cancer (American College of Surgeons Oncology Group). Other published works include measuring quality of breast centers, the value of preoperative needle biopsy, use of ultrasound in the operating room, choosing the optimal procedure for axillary surgery, and the risks and benefits of Tamoxifen as prevention.
Dr. Kaufman and his wife live in Bellingham, Washington, and enjoy the beautiful Northwest. Their son is an attorney, their oldest daughter a radiology fellow, and their youngest daughter is an associate buyer in the fashion industry.
| Working with the BREAST CARE TEAM
As an accredited breast center, we can provide all the services needed for comprehensive care for the patient with a breast concern. For those with breast cancer, we have multidisicplinary medical care as well as supportive care as needed. We work as a center without walls, providing care within Bellingham as well as obtaining second and third opinions from other communities, primarily Seattle.
We provide services from:
a) early diagnosis with imaging, mammography, ultrasound, MRI, BSGI, CT and PET scans, to
b) risk analysis with genetic counseling and testing, to
c) treatment with surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, targeted therapies and immune therapy to
d) supportive care with counseling, physical therapy, and lymphatic massage.
We have access to the entire spectrum of care necessary for the individual patient.
Services offered directly by the Bellingham Breast Center:
1) Clinical Breast Examination (Physician examination of the breast)
2) Breast Ultrasound (sound wave examination of the breast. This can find lumps than cannot be felt and uses no radiation.)
3) Needle biopsy (rather than surgical biopsy. After a local anesthetic, we use the smallest needles possible to obtain an accurate biopsy.)
a) Palpable (when a lump can be felt, a small needle biopsy can be accurately performed using local anesthetic)
b) Non-palpable ultrasound guided (when a lump cannot be felt, ultrasound accurately identifies the lump and allows a small needle biopsy without disturbance.)
4) Pathology Testing and Examination
a) Pathologists from Northwest Pathologists examine all tissue with state-of-the-art techniques
b) Outside pathologists are enlisted when difficult diagnostic tissues are found.
5) Surgical Care
a) Surgical Breast Biopsy (rarely the lump requires removal without needle biopsy)
b) Lumpectomy (when a tumor needs to be removed with a small margin of normal tissue surrounding the lump.)
c) Cryosurgery for breast cancer (an ACOSOG clinical trial)
d) Aesthetic mastectomy (removing the entire breast using plastic surgical techniques to improve the overall cosmetic outcome along with curing the disease.)
e) Mastectomy (the entire breast is removed for extensive breast cancer.)
f) Immediate Reconstruction (when mastectomy is needed, we associate with Plastic Surgeons to perform the first stage of reconstruction at the same time as mastectomy.) Recontruction may be in the form of an implant or a flap including TRAM flaps, DIEP flaps, Free flaps and other specialized flaps as dictated by the situation.
6) Coordinated Treatment with
a) Radiation Therapists
b) Medical Oncologists
c) Naturopaths
d) Physical Therapists
7) Psychosocial Support
a) Groups
b) Individual sessions
c) Partners/Families
8) High risk counseling and Genetic Testing
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Our Psychosocial Director:
Leslie Jacobson, MFT, has had over 30 years experience counseling patients with breast disorders. Too often, the patient with a breast diagnosis is not considered as a whole person and their personal concerns and relationships are ignored by the medical system. Leslie, a licensed psychotherapist, provides support for groups of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, or individualized sessions for those interested. Although she is connected with the Bellingham Breast Center, her office is in Fairhaven. There, the groups meet in a warm, non-medical setting allowing honest discussion and proper guidance from this expert. Group sessions are limited to 6-8 people and are scheduled so that each person starts the group at the same time, allowing for a more even experience.
For the last 12 years, Ms. Jacobson has curated "Reaching for the Light", a Breast Cancer Art Show in Bellingham. Here, anyone impacted by breast cancer is invited to submit a piece of art for display. Along with each piece of art is a written statement by the artist, commenting on the impact of breast cancer and how it influenced the art. The Art Show raises regional awareness of the personal side of breast cancer. Ms. Jacobson has won the Mayor’s Art Award for this event.
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