This content is sponsored by the University of Maryland Capital Region Health.
Breast cancer continues to be a concern in Maryland and especially in Prince George鈥檚 County and Southern Maryland. One in eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime, which makes prevention and early detection extremely important.
鈥淭he best thing that you can do for your breast health is get routine breast exams by your physician and get your annual mammogram,鈥� said Dr. Katerina Tsiapali, a breast surgeon and director of the Comprehensive Breast Program at the .
鈥淎s women, we鈥檙e very busy. We鈥檙e taking care of everybody else in the household, and we put ourselves last,鈥� added Michelle Houston, a breast surgery nurse navigator at the Cancer Center in Largo. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just very important for our patients to understand that you have to come first because, if you鈥檙e not here or you鈥檙e not functioning correctly, how are you going to help your family?鈥�
Tsiapali and Houston spoke to WTOP for our 2025 Get on Top of Your Health series.
When a patient receives a breast cancer diagnosis it can be incredibly scary. But the team approach at the Cancer Center aims to put patients at ease, Tsiapali said.
鈥淓very cancer patient that walks in our door gets discussed at our tumor board, so we get input from all the different specialists, and the main players are the medical oncologist, a surgical oncologist, myself and a radiation oncologist 鈥� as well as our social worker and our nutritionist,鈥� she said.
Care, concern, compassion
What鈥檚 so special about the Cancer Center鈥檚 team approach?
鈥淚 always like to have a nice cocoon around my patients,鈥� Tsiapali said. 鈥淚 want them to feel at home, not to feel stressed when they come to see us, just to feel that it鈥檚 a place where they can find support and be themselves.鈥�
Doctors and other medical professionals meet patients where they are with the goal of achieving the solutions that patients seek. All are trained to identify cues as to whether a patient may be having some difficulty, she said. 鈥淚s there a barrier that we鈥檙e not aware of?鈥�
And this approach extends beyond the patient, Houston explained.
鈥淥ne thing I love about what we can do is that we鈥檙e able to have the families come in,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen you come into our office and come into our room, there鈥檚 a family room first, and then there鈥檚 the exam room. The family can ask questions. Patient education is not just educating the patient but educating the entire family, so that they can work together as a unit to get through this.鈥�
Houston works to schedule a patient鈥檚 appointments with multiple doctors on the same day for ease of care and so patients don鈥檛 have to take an entire day off of work. That can be especially important for those who must travel a far distance, which many had to do before the Largo program was established, Houston said.
鈥淯p until now, patients were having to travel all the way to Baltimore or going to Virginia to get this type of care,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ow, we have it right there in their community.鈥�
The Cancer Center at University of Maryland Capital Region Health wants to ensure that patients see all their specialists in one day, during one visit, to provide patients with comprehensive treatment and compassionate care at every visit.
鈥淎t the end of that day, you leave with all your appointments done and your next steps outlined,鈥� Tsiapali said.
Patients at the Cancer Center also have access to the vast resources of the entire University of Maryland Medical System, which includes the in Baltimore. There, patients can access advanced treatments and take part in the latest clinical trials.
Breast cancer and African American women
Breast cancer is a big concern for women of color in Prince George鈥檚 County and Southern Maryland. In fact, African American women diagnosed with breast cancer in Prince George鈥檚 have a higher mortality rate than white women in the county and women in general across the state.
It鈥檚 an issue both Houston and Tsiapali are addressing.
鈥淭he majority of our patients at the Cancer Center are African American, so we do have expertise in treating them. It鈥檚 a multifactorial process that leads to a diagnosis of more aggressive cancer, such as triple-negative breast cancer,鈥� Tsiapali said. 鈥淲e also identify certain barriers to care, access to good care and nonparticipation in clinical trials that can sometimes lead to worse outcomes, such as higher mortality.鈥�
In addition, Houston noted that biases in health care sometimes leave patients feeling 鈥渓ike they鈥檙e going to be ignored if they have a complaint of something. Just having somewhere where we鈥檙e listening to the patient, giving true patient-centered care is amazing to me, and I think it鈥檚 going to really help change things and turn things around for the community.鈥�
Keeping tabs on survivors
Just because treatment ends successfully, doesn鈥檛 mean medical surveillance stops. The Cancer Center will ensure that patients are set up for mammograms, MRIs and any other necessary follow-up imaging.
鈥淎t least every six months, patients will have some type of imaging and contact with us so that we can make sure they鈥檙e still doing well,鈥� Houston said.
When active treatment finishes, patients often are at their most vulnerable, Tsiapali said. 鈥淎 lot of patients, for good reason, feel like, 鈥榃hat now? I finished my treatment. How do I make sure this doesn鈥檛 come back?'” she said.
Because many risk factors can be modified through lifestyle changes, 鈥渨e want our patients to be well educated on how to best support themselves in that process,鈥� Tsiapali added.
Houston described it this way: 鈥淎t the Cancer Center, each patient is coming to a family. We are working together, and we are all family.鈥�
To learn more now about the Cancer Center at UM Capital Region Health 鈥� which provides treatment for breast, colon, lung and prostate cancer, as well as other common and rare cancers 鈥� please visit its or call 240-677- 8300. And discover additional tips and tactics to聽get on top of your health on WTOP.
