Breast Cancer Awareness

Breast Cancer Screening

If breast cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, it is more likely to be treated successfully. Breast cancer screening can help to diagnose breast cancer early before it becomes large or spreads to other parts of the body.

Our Breast Health & Cancer Program ffers the latest imaging, screening and diagnostic technology, in our dedicated, all-female Breast Imaging Suite, allowing breast cancer to be diagnosed at the earliest possible stage.

Routine breast cancer screening with mammography remains the most effective tool in identifying the disease at an early stage in women with no symptoms.

The Department of Health recommends all women should attend mammogram screening every 2 years from the age of 40, or earlier if breast cancer runs in the family.

Advanced techniques to screen for and diagnose breast cancer include:

• Mammography: Digital mammography remains the gold standard screening technique for breast cancer. State-of-the-art screening, called tomosynthesis or 3D mammography, offers excellent detection of breast cancer, even in dense tissue. This technology is only available in a few centers in Abu Dhabi.
• Breast Computer-Aided Detection (CAD): Uses a sophisticated computer to analyze mammograms and enhance a radiologists’ findings.
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) guided biopsy: We are the only facility in Abu Dhabi offering this advanced, minimally invasive diagnostic technique due to the vast expertise required to perform the procedure.
• Genetic Testing: Identifies abnormal changes (called mutations) in certain genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2) which may increase your risk of breast cancer, allowing preventive steps to be taken.

Learn more about the advanced breast cancer screening and diagnostic tools available at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi here.

Advanced Treatments

Advances in breast cancer treatment mean that today, more women are surviving the disease and those diagnosed with incurable breast cancer are living longer with an improved quality of life.

Those advances are giving hope to women, with many more promising developments in breast cancer treatment currently undergoing scientific research which will save the lives of many more women in the future.

Advanced treatment options for breast cancer, available at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Breast Health & Cancer Program, include:

• Targeted therapy: A treatment which targets specific genes and proteins in cancer cells which help them to live, grow and spread. More targeted therapies have become available in recent years, offering hope to many women with breast cancer.
• Immunotherapy: Heralding a truly significant advancement in cancer treatment, immunotherapy uses the body’s immune system to attack and kill cancer cells.
• PARP (Poly-ADP Ribose Polymerase) inhibitors: A type of targeted therapy, this treatment stops the protein in cancer cells that allows them to repair themselves, causing them to die.
• Ethos adaptive radiotherapy: An advanced, innovative cancer treatment which combines state-of-the-art imaging technology with advanced radiation therapy techniques.

Learn more about the latest treatment options for breast cancer patients here.

Life Saving Surgery

State-of-the-art surgeries are now available which are both life-changing and lifesaving for breast cancer patients. As well as improving outcomes, these advanced, complex procedures are improving the quality of life and overall wellbeing of women.

Breast cancer surgery today enables enabling better preservation of the breast and can minimize scars like never before, helping women to recover both physically and emotionally from their cancer journey.

The complex, state-of-the-art surgeries available at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Oncology Institute, include:

• Breast-conserving surgery: Called a lumpectomy, cancer is removed from the breast while preserving as much tissue as possible. If the cancer is large, reconstructive surgeons help to restore appearance of the breast.
• Sentinel node biopsy: An essential tool for staging cancer, a sentinel node biopsy can indicate whether cancer has spread and whether or not additional lymph node removal is necessary.
• Oncoplastic surgery: A relatively new surgical technique which employs plastic surgery techniques with the aim of conserving the breast and improving cosmetic outcomes.
• Breast reconstruction surgery: Advances in reconstructive techniques allow the shape, appearance, and symmetry of the breasts to be restored following a mastectomy.
• DIEP flap: One of the first facilities in the UAE to offer this type of autologous reconstruction, the DIEP flap uses tissue from the lower abdomen and includes secondary procedures such as fat transfer to the breast and nipple reconstruction.
• Prophylactic lymphovenous anastomosis: Performed at only a handful of centers worldwide, this cutting-edge procedure can prevent post-surgery swelling and fluid build-up in the upper extremities.

Learn more about surgical advances in breast surgery here.

Support Services

To ensure an integrated, holistic and novel approach to care that goes beyond treating cancer and encompasses every aspect of our patients’ health and wellbeing, our Breast Health & Cancer Program offers a unique and unparalleled range of embedded services.

• Hereditary High-Risk Program: An innovation within the field of precision medicine providing personalized, precision management plans, including medical and surgical treatment options, as well as support and counselling to patients who have an identified inherited gene mutation or family or personal history of cancer, which may increase their risk of developing the disease.
• Lifestyle Medicine Program: The first program of its kind in the region which emphasizes the importance of healthy life choices and behaviors, such as diet, physical activity, stress and sleep, in order to prevent, treat and manage diseases, such as cancer.
• Palliative and Supportive Care Program: Innovative within the field of palliative care, our multidisciplinary team works with each cancer patient, their family and wider cancer team as they address a range of challenges that anyone affected by cancer may face.
• Healthy Longevity Clinic: A program designed to support cancer survivors after their treatment ends and to guide them through the next stage of their care.