The City of Hope Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship is a 1-year training program accredited by the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO).  The mission of our breast surgical oncology training program is to educate future academic and community leaders in breast cancer treatment through sound multidisciplinary and advanced breast surgical training.  One fellow is appointed each year. Our program follows the guidelines set forth by the SSO.

 

City of Hope is a National Cancer Institute designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and a founding member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. We are continually recognized as one of the nation’s top cancer hospitals by US News and World Report and are known for excellence in compassionate patient care, education, and bench-to-bedside research. Our campus, in the suburbs of metro Los Angeles, is home to the Beckman Research Institute and Graduate School as well as the City of Hope National Medical Center. 

 

The fellowship curriculum is designed to be flexible and meet the needs and career aspirations of each individual fellow, whether it be a career in an academic or a community setting. We offer a true multidisciplinary fellowship with dedicated rotations in breast surgery, plastic surgery (with emphasis on oncoplastic techniques), radiation oncology, medical oncology, clinical cancer genetics, psycho-oncology supportive care medicine, pathology, and radiology with experience in ultrasound-guided and stereotactic procedures. To cover core educational objectives, multidisciplinary off-service rotations alternate with breast surgery to allow the fellow the ability to follow patients from their surgical experience through their adjuvant care, while allowing the fellow to continuously refine breast surgical technique throughout the year with an increasing level of independence. Advanced breast surgical techniques include oncoplastic surgery, nipple sparing mastectomy, appropriate axillary management and use of intra-operative radiotherapy.
 

The fellow will participate in multiple conferences, some of which are listed here:

Opportunities for clinical and basic science research are abundant, based upon the individual interests of the fellow. Fellows learn the fundamentals of research including the basics of research design, data analysis and ethical conduct of research. With over 66 open breast clinical trials at our institution, the fellow will learn about various trial designs from phase I trials to retrospective studies, and will participate in our weekly multidisciplinary research conference. Clinical research projects are facilitated primarily through larger national databases. The fellow is expected to develop, complete, and present at least one research project under the mentorship of an identified faculty member. Our fellow will receive instruction in abstract and manuscript preparation and is encouraged to present at a local, regional and or national meeting. Fellows will be funded for travel to at least 1 national meeting for presentation.