Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship

The Cancer Institute at Advocate Christ Medical Center offers a one-year fellowship in Breast Surgical Oncology for surgeons who seek advanced training in this field. Our Cancer Institute has been NAPBC accredited since 2015 and COC accredited since the 1990s. The first fellow started in 2012 and we are SSO approved.

Advocate Christ Medical Center is a 788-bed tertiary care hospital that is part of the twenty-seven hospital Advocate Aurora Health Care System. The cancer institute sees over 2,000 newly diagnosed cancer patients annually with approximately 400-500 patients treated for breast cancer. We maintain a unique survivorship environment with on-site Gilda’s Club and American Cancer Society offices. Additionally, there is a high volume of benign breast disease that requires surgical intervention. Over 17,000 screening mammograms, 5,000 diagnostic mammograms and 3,000 diagnostic ultrasounds are performed annually. Our center is actively involved in national clinical trials.

The fellow is encouraged to develop a research project with the intent of submitting an abstract to the annual meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons. Upon successful completion of the fellowship, the fellow can expect to obtain a thorough and in-depth understanding of the comprehensive management for breast cancer patients and those with benign breast disease. ACMC currently has three full-time dedicated breast surgeons, with the fellow actively involved and mentored throughout all aspects of their training by both senior members and other colleagues involved with the Breast Cancer Program. To this end, participation is required at our weekly multidisciplinary team breast tumor board (every Tuesday) as well as our multidisciplinary breast oncology clinic (every Friday).

The clinic is staffed by our team of breast-oncology specialists, comprised of medical, surgical and radiation oncology, breast oncology nurses, patient navigators, clinical research nurses and three trained genetic counselors.

There are 6 breast surgery and 6 off-service rotations, including: plastic surgery, pathology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, breast imaging, genetics/survivorship/rehabilitation. (All surgical rotations take place at ACMC) Other essential components of the fellowship include: Techniques of breast conservation and oncoplasty utilizing wireless localization with SAVI scout Sentinel lymph node mapping, axillary reverse mapping and LYMPHA procedure Intraoperative margin assessment with Faxitron and pathologic gross inspection Bioimpedence spectroscopy for the detection of subclinical lymphedema. Plastic surgical reconstruction techniques, including nipple sparing mastectomy Evolving breast-imaging technologies, (Contrast enhanced mammography, automated breast ultrasound, PEM imaging, etc.) Image-guided biopsy techniques – all clinics are equipped with ultrasound and percutaneous biopsy supplies.

Prerequisites:

All applicants must successfully complete a residency in general surgery and be eligible for medical licensure in the state of Illinois.

How To Apply:

Please send CV, personal statement and cover letter to our program coordinator Linda Hardie.