Breast Cancer

Medical Oncology (Chemotherapy)

If your breast cancer treatment includes chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, or targeted anticancer drugs, the medical oncologists at John Theurer Cancer Center—part of Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey—collaborate with other members of your breast care team to choose the most appropriate medications for your type and stage of breast cancer.

Precision Medicine: Matching You with the Best Anticancer Drugs

Cancer cells need fuel to grow. Our team analyzes your disease to identify the type of fuel driving its growth. Once identified, we can target this specific driver, with the goal of stopping your cancer from returning or growing. We also use state-of-the-art technology to better define how and when to use chemotherapy appropriately and safely. This helps to ensure you get the treatment you need while avoiding treatments (and their side effects) that are not likely to benefit you. For patients with advanced cancers, we are also exploring the use of “next generation gene sequencing,” a novel tool which can help us identify new drivers of cancer growth and could yield new treatment possibilities.

An Experienced Medical Oncology Team

Our medical oncologists are experts on the most effective drugs and drug combinations for women with all types and stages of breast cancer—from stage I disease to metastatic and recurrent cancer. They’ll match you with the therapies best suited for your individual cancer, such as trastuzumab (Herceptin) or pertuzumab (Perjeta) for HER2-positive breast cancers and tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors (other estrogen-targeted drugs) for patients whose tumors are fueled by estrogen.

If you need infusion therapies, you can receive them in our modern and comfortable infusion center, which is staffed by oncology-certified nurses with the experience and compassion to monitor you and ensure your comfort during your treatment. Our goal is to cure your cancer while maintaining your quality of life as much as possible.