Summa Health High Risk Breast Clinic

Every woman wants to know what she can do to lower her risk of breast cancer. Some of the factors associated with breast cancer can’t be modified, such as your gender, age, early puberty and family history. Other factors— being overweight, lack of physical activity, smoking cigarettes, daily alcohol consumption and eating unhealthy food— can be changed. By choosing the healthiest lifestyle options possible, you can empower yourself and make sure your breast cancer risk is as low as possible.

There is hope for reducing the risk of breast cancer in high-risk cases. For high-risk patients, the Summa Health High Risk Breast Clinic provides genetic risk evaluation, screening and preventive options for individuals at increased lifetime risk of breast cancer due to personal and family risk factors. Our goal is to help you identify your lifetime risk and work to decrease your risk of developing breast cancer. It’s important to know your risk reduction options. 

Who may need to schedule in our High Risk Breast Clinic?

• You or a family member has a known inherited mutation in a breast cancer-related gene - BRCA1/2
• You have a family member diagnosed with breast cancer at age 45 or younger. 
• You have multiple family members with breast, ovarian, uterine, colon, pancreatic or prostate cancer. 
• Your family has a male with breast cancer. 
• You have a personal history of atypia on a previous breast biopsy
• You had prior thoracic radiation therapy, prior to age 30.
• You are of Ashkenazi Jewish Descent. 
  
  

How is your risk determined? 

Your personal and family history is used to calculate a Cancer Risk Assessment. Our multidisciplinary team of breast experts includes physicians, breast surgeons, nurses, genetic counselors, social workers and dietitians, all of whom are dedicated to providing the support you need. We will work with you to develop an individualized prevention, screening, and risk reduction evaluation using the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines.

Your physician can make a referral or you can self-refer. To make an appointment with a high-risk breast specialist at our Clinic on our Akron Campus to discuss your risks, call 330.375.7494.