Breast Oncology Fellowship
Stanford Cancer Institute is an NCI-designated cancer center located along with the Medical Center on the Stanford University campus. Our state-of-the-art facility is a major tertiary care referral center with over 600 beds and 33 operating rooms. The Women’s Cancer Center provides outpatient multidisciplinary services for women with breast cancer and other breast ailments. Advanced imaging, cutting edge new technologies, and access to cutting-edge treatments characterize the clinical-research enterprise
Training Program and Rotations
The Breast Oncology Fellowship Program at Stanford University emphasizes interdisciplinary and longitudinal care. The breast oncology training program is a Society of Surgical Oncology approved one-year fellowship. The educational and training experience is primarily focused on the surgical aspects of breast disease and the treatment of breast cancer while integrating other breast disciplines, including survivorship and fertility services. There are formal rotations in pathology, plastic/reconstructive surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, genetics and breast imaging. Other elements of our educational program include weekly Tumor Board, surgical Grand Rounds, and monthly Fellows Forum (with pathology, radiology, radiation and medical oncology fellows). Bi-monthly didactic sessions and other lecture series complement the rich educational experience.
Fellows stay connected with the Breast Service throughout the year and have the responsibility overall. Interns are assigned to the service throughout the year and PGY3’s for seven months of the year. At least six months of training are spent exclusively on the surgical service working with four breast surgical oncologists. During the rotation in breast surgical oncology, the fellow will achieve expertise in breast conserving techniques, soft tissue mobilization/ oncoplastics, lymphatic mapping and sentinel node biopsy as well as nipple-sparing mastectomies. Other examples of the trainee experience include intraoperative radiotherapy, use of ultrasound in the office and operating room, and fluorescence skin perfusion imaging.
Emphasis on the patient journey, longitudinal care and clinical trial participation are key elements of this program. The experience of the fellows is enriched by our faculty in the sub-specialties who are leaders in their field of breast surgery.
Research, Presentations, and Publications
Clinical research and recruitment of patients onto phase 1 to 3 clinical and translational research studies are part of daily activities at Stanford. We participate in national cooperative oncology group trials including NRG (NSABP, RTOG) and ECOG, in additional to industry-sponsored trials and investigator/institutional-initiated studies.
Fellows are required to develop their own unique clinical research projects and present at national meetings. It is expected that fellows will complete 1 to 2 manuscripts.
Fellows attend usually two national meetings as well as the SSO-Fellow’s Institute course(s).
Eligibility
Applicants should have completed an approved surgical residency in the United States, be Board-eligible or Board-certified, citizens or permanent residents of the United States and must obtain a valid medical license in the State of California before starting the program.
Current Fellow
Leah Candell, MD
Dr. Leah Candell was born and raised in the Bay Area and was inspired to go into medicine by her father who is a retired family practitioner and mother who is a retired nurse. She did her undergraduate education at the University of California, Davis and her medical school education at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She completed her surgical residency with the University of California, San Francisco- East Bay program based at Highland Hospital in her hometown of Oakland. After residency she worked as a general surgeon for several years and it was during this time that her interest in breast cancer treatment grew, and sparked her desire to do a breast surgical oncology fellowship. During her free time she enjoys reading, writing, traveling, and spending time with her partner, two kids, and their dog Nessa.
Leadership
Irene L. Wapnir, MD
Program Director
wapnir@stanford.edu
Jacqueline Tsai, MD
Associate Program Director
jatsai@stanford.edu
2019-2020 Stanford Breast Fellow, Dr. Joanne Edquilang, presents "Preoperative Marking of Lymph Nodes with Tattoo Ink" for the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) meeting in May 2020.