Our Region

It is projected that 1 in 8 or 9 women in the region served by the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System (North Shore-LIJ Health System) will have a breast cancer diagnosis in their lifetime; and three of the counties served by the Health System, (Nassau, Suffolk and Richmond) have a higher incidence of breast cancer and a higher breast cancer mortality rate than New York State as a whole. Recent data released by the New York State Department of Health shows that, based on five years worth of cancer cases from 1992 to 1996, Nassau County has the second-highest breast cancer rate and Suffolk the fifth-highest among New York State’s 62 counties.

Our History: North Shore-LIJ Health System Breast Initiative

As a major Health System and provider of health care services in the region, and a major employer with over 25,000 employees, North Shore-LIJ Health System bears responsibility for playing a leadership role in addressing the many issues related to this devastating disease, particularly in the areas of breast cancer screening and education, diagnosis, treatment and research.

In July 1999, an interdisciplinary group of clinical leaders from various health system facilities representing Women’s Health, Surgery, Medical Oncology, Radiology, Pathology, Radiation Oncology, Genetics, Administration and other departments began meeting with a commitment to develop the North Shore–LIJ Health System Breast Initiative. The activities of this committee have been made possible through a HANYS Breast Cancer Demonstration, as one of other statewide hospital grantees.

Our Mission

The mission of the North Shore-LIJ Health System Breast Initiative Committee is to provide interdisciplinary leadership for the purposes of overseeing and directing system-wide activities related to the delivery of breast services. These activities include:

• Outreach and education to the communities served by the North Shore-LIJ Health System;
• Promoting and ensuring excellence in quality of care and service,
• Developing standards of practice,
• Advancing research.

Hope Lives Here

The North Shore-LIJ Health System offers many unique programs and services aimed at improving clinical quality and community awareness about breast health screening, diagnosis and treatment.

Forums and Conferences

• A number of Breast Conferences for both medical and lay communities have been sponsored, together with Medical Grand Rounds for primary care providers focusing on breast cancer:

Recent Educational Topics:

• The Viral Cause of Human Breast Cancer
• Recent Developments in the Prevention and Treatment of Breast Cancer
• Issues and Controversies in Breast Cancer Care
• The Star Trial – Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene

Update on Breast Cancer : Medical Grand Rounds Topics:

“Innovations in Breast Cancer Care”: Oncology Roundtable of the Health Care Advisory Board

Annual conference on national best practices in breast cancer clinical and service quality.

Excellence in Clinical Quality

Breast Tumor Board Multidisciplinary Clinical Case Presentations.

These clinical presentations provide an opportunity for physicians who are treating complex breast cancer cases to access consultation from a large, multidisciplinary group of breast cancer specialists. These sessions are teleconferenced on a monthly basis to all health system facilities, with a mailing list of several hundred physicians. The presentations provide a unique opportunity for all of the specialties involved in the care of a breast cancer patient (Primary Care, Surgery, Pathology, Radiology, Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Genetics) to join together to prospectively review and discuss the plan of care for breast cancer patients.

• Standardization of Pathology Reporting Formats for breast carcinoma at all North Shore-LIJ Health System hospitals.

Our Committee

Committee composition is varied and includes representatives from a variety of clinical and non-clinical disciplines related to breast cancer education, diagnosis and treatment. The committee meets monthly to plan its activities.

For further information, you may write to us at: Breast Health Initiative, North Shore-LIJ Health System, 150 Community Drive, Great Neck, NY 11021.