Breast health is every woman’s concern. And today, it’s a comfort to know that there are more ways than ever to diagnose and treat breast abnormalities. Here at The Center for Breast Health at Good Samaritan Hospital, you’ll find a highly advanced program for diagnosing and treating virtually any breast health issue. Everything you need is handled, completely and compassionately, right here.
Our Center for Breast Health is designated as a “Center of Excellence.” That means that we offer the highest quality patient care, including:
- Timely and accurate diagnosis
- Patient Navigators to help you through the process efficiently and to keep you informed
- State-of-the-art surgery and therapy
- A multi-disciplinary team approach to your care, with specialists from breast surgery, medical and surgical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology, plastic surgery and other disciplines
- The most sophisticated equipment available for imaging and more
We also take great pride in treating the whole patient—your physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. We’ll offer you support and education throughout your treatment, and we encourage you to ask questions. Our staff specializes, exclusively, in breast care, and we’re here to help.
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Cancer Services Prevention Program
For Information and to Book Appointments Call: 845.368.5816
At Good Samaritan Hospital, a member of Westchester Medical Center Health Network, we're offering free cancer screening services including:
- Clinical breast exam
- Mammogram
- Colorectal Screening/FIT Kit
- Bilingual (Spanish and English) clinical team
- Interpretation services also available in other languages
The Center for Breast Health, Imaging Division at Good Samaritan Hospital
255 Lafayette Avenue, Suffern NY 10901
Listen to the latest interview with our Breast Cancer Patient Navigator, Aimee Monastero, as she shares information about the exceptional services offered at The Center for Breast Health, our cancer services program, and how she helps patients navigate complex decisions, connects them with vital resources, and offers emotional support throughout the treatment process.
Listen to Karen Karsif, MD, Medical Director of The Center for Breast Health at Good Samaritan Hospital, discuss breast cancer prevention, screenings and treatment options on WRCR Radio’s House Calls.
For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Karen Karsif, MD, Medical Director of The Center for Breast Health at Good Samaritan Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network, dispels myths about breast cancer and provides useful tips on WRCR Radio’s House Calls talk show.
Listen to House Calls on WRCR with Karen Karsif, MD, Medical Director of The Center for Breast Health at Good Samaritan Hospital, Suffern, NY, as she discusses breast health, breast cancer prevention and treatment options.
Listen to Karen Karsif, MD, Director of The Center for Breast Health at Good Samaritan Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network,, on WTBQ Radio. She discusses breast cancer screening and treatment options.
Hear from Our Patients
Adriana Cruz
Retired NYPD Officer Gets a New Lease on Life
“I’m going to party it up over the holidays,” says breast cancer survivor, Adriana Cruz of Nanuet. The retired NYPD police officer began having health issues and had to have two stents placed in her heart as well as knee replacement surgery. Because of these medical conditions and then COVID-19, she put off her mammograms that she had done yearly. But when she felt something in her breast, she decided she couldn’t delay it any longer. The mammogram revealed that she did have breast cancer and she was referred to Karen Karsif, MD, Director of The Center for Breast Health at Good Samaritan Hospital.
When she was first diagnosed, she said she was in shock. “I burst out crying, but Dr. Karsif made everything better. She held my hand and said you’re going to be fine. Her words of encouragement made me feel that everything would be OK.” Cruz had a mastectomy followed by reconstruction surgery last year. She attends Dr. Karsif’s support group, which she says is “therapeutic” for her. “I am so fortunate to have met her!” Now, Cruz is looking forward to spending Christmas with her son and grandchildren in Las Vegas and then will be visiting her sister in Texas.
Linda Torian-McCorkle
One Mammogram Saved This Vibrant Grandmother’s Life
Linda Torian-McCorkle enjoys a night out with her husband, Lamont McCorkle, who supported her every step of the way during her recovery.
When it comes to mammograms, timing can be everything. Learn how a breast exam caught Linda Torian-McCorkle's cancer so she could continue to enjoy her busy life!
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many aspects of our lives. One important and potentially deadly example is how the pandemic delayed or prevented many people from keeping up with their recommended health screenings, like mammograms. Just ask Linda Torian-McCorkle.
Torian-McCorkle had been healthy all her life and diligently went for her annual mammograms until the pandemic. But because of COVID, “I was a little leery about going to any medical facility,” she says. “I didn’t have a mammogram for about two years.”
In March 2022, Torian-McCorckle, 61, of Harriman, finally felt comfortable enough to get her mammogram. When she was called back in for a second test and a biopsy, she didn’t get concerned. It wasn’t until she was referred to Karen Karsif, MD, Medical Director of The Center for Breast Health at WMCHealth’s Good Samaritan Hospital, that she learned she had breast cancer.
Dr. Karen Karsif, Medical Director of The Center for Breast Health at Good Samaritan Hospital. |
“When [Dr. Karsif] told me, I just sat there and looked at her,” Torian-McCorkle says. “She kept asking, ‘Are you all right?’ I just sat there, I didn’t know what to say. I was surprised, but I wasn’t afraid.”
The good news was that she had an early-stage cancer called ductile carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which means that the cancer was confined to a small portion of the breast and it was not likely to have spread. The cancer was rated stage 0, and “Dr. Karsif told me, ‘Don’t worry; we got this,’” Torian-McCorkle says. “The way she said it, I was good.”
DCIS, Dr. Karsif says, is “theoretically 100 percent curable.” Treatment options may include mastectomy or lumpectomy; Torian-McCorkle chose the latter. Under general anesthesia, Dr. Karsif made a small incision around the areola, in order to leave little to no scarring, and removed the cancerous tissue and a small amount of surrounding tissue, called the margin, to ensure the cancer was entirely removed. “We need at least two millimeters of cancer-free margins,” Dr. Karsif says. “With negative margins and radiation therapy after surgery, there is less than 0.5 percent chance of recurrence per year.”
The patient goes home the same day, and Dr. Karsif injects a time-release painkiller into the surgery site that lasts 72 hours. “Most patients have very little or no pain,” she says. She advises no heavy lifting until a return visit seven to 10 days later. Torian-McCorkle felt so good that just two days after her surgery, she was in the labor-and-delivery room of another hospital with her daughter Raven, who gave birth to Torian-McCorkle’s fourth grandchild.
Torian-McCorkle underwent radiation treatment for six weeks and then went for physical therapy to regain a full range of motion. The radiation left her fatigued, but she continued to work as a personal shopper at Target. She is also on tamoxifen, a medication prescribed to block estrogen, which feeds her kind of cancer, but tamoxifen has side effects. “I have hot flashes again; I thought I was over those,” she laughs. “I’m also very tired. My granddaughter told me I go down like four flat tires, but Dr. Karsif says that will even itself out.”
Torian-McCorkle praises her husband, Lamont, who was very active in her recovery. She also loved the care she received at Good Samaritan Hospital. “Every doctor I’ve seen made me feel like I was the only patient they had,” she says. “They took so much time to talk to me and help me. Even the people at the front door were amazing — they greet you as if they know you. And Dr. Karsif did a beautiful job! You can’t tell where she went in; it looks normal.”
Sidebar: Mammogram Guidelines
Mammography is still the gold standard for breast cancer detection, Dr. Karsif says. “The death rate from breast cancer has been going down for 20 years,” she says, “because mammograms catch cancer early, when it is much smaller, and treatments are more successful. My recommendation is to get a mammogram every year after age 40, even though some guidelines recommend getting them every other year from age 40 to 49.”
Torian-McCorkle stresses: “You have to be vigilant and stay on those mammograms. I don’t care what else going on; you have to get them. If I had waited any longer, who knows what the outcome would have been. It does not pay to wait.”
Maureen Corallo
A Star-Spangled Survivor
Maureen Corallo, a grandma and singer from Rockland County, beat breast cancer and is singing the praises of Good Samaritan Hospital.
By Debra Bresnan
I’m known as the lady who sings The Star Spangled Banner. It’s a hard song to sing, and if you start in the wrong key, it’s over,” says Maureen Corallo, 74, a grandmother of five who lives in Thiells, in the Town of Haverstraw.
Hitting the right notes in our national anthem at Little League openers, naturalization ceremonies to welcome new citizens and community events isn’t the biggest challenge in Corallo’s life though: Two years ago — just six months after her youngest son, Steve, died from glioblastoma — she was diagnosed with Her2+ breast cancer, which is often associated with a higher risk of recurrence.
Corallo first received radiation treatments for breast cancer 22 years ago at Good Samaritan Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth), and she returned there to undergo treatment once again. “Everyone — my doctors, the nurses and the whole team — treated me like royalty, and I felt totally confident,” she says.
In early 2016, Karen Karsif, MD, Medical Director of The Center for Breast Health at Good Samaritan Hospital, performed Corallo’s double mastectomy, and Sushil Bhardwaj, MD, Director of Good Samaritan Hospital’s Bobbi Lewis Cancer Program, administered her chemotherapy and Herceptin treatments, which she is continuing.
Comprehensive Breast Cancer Diagnosis & Treatment
“The two treatments are synergistic, and Maureen’s adjuvant regimen is a classic example of the state-of-the-art treatment available here,” explains Dr. Bhardwaj.
“I’ve had the rare opportunity to see the evolution in cancer diagnosis and treatment,” Dr. Bhardwaj says. “We’ve made tremendous strides in understanding cancer’s molecular biology and can leverage it to get rid of it or give treatments to help people live with it. The other big development is in our ability to minimize side effects, such as nausea, vomiting and infections, to give patients a better quality of life. Best of all, people receive compassionate care close to home, with a full array of services and support — from diagnosis and treatment to survivorship — right here at Good Samaritan Hospital.”
“Dr. Bhardwaj would evaluate me before each treatment,” says Corallo, adding that he assessed her overall health and once sent her to an ophthalmologist and, another time, to a urologist.
Though she temporarily lost her hair and sensation for food, she suffered no major ill effects. “The fact that I never got sick or felt weak surprised me,” Corallo admits. “Actually, the hair is coming in beautifully, and the loss of taste buds allowed me to lose 30 pounds!”
Living, With Gusto
Corallo and her husband, Sal, moved to Rockland County in 1969. They raised three children and welcomed five grandchildren into their close family circle. She sang in their church choir for more than 42 years. She joined the PTA and wrote a regular column for the local paper, Haverstraw Happenings. Before retirement, she was a judge’s secretary at the Rockland County Courthouse.
Corallo is the former co-chair of the Rockland County Breast Cancer Taskforce. “We had events and made phone calls to get the word out about mammograms,” she says. “Back when I was 51, and they found my small breast cancer, it was recommended that women get a mammogram every year until they turned 50 and then every two years after that. If I had waited until I was 52 to get mine, I might not be here today. Absolutely go get an annual mammogram.”
“I feel blessed by the kindness and care I received from everyone at Good Samaritan Hospital. The chemotherapy room has eight big comfortable lounge chairs, with all your equipment and a personal TV. It’s beautiful, clean and light… a pleasant, friendly place that makes everybody feel better,” says Corallo. “If you have to have treatments, go there.”
At the suggestion of one of her nurses, Corallo now speaks with others about her experience. “I’ll let people know how good I feel and look,” she says. “It’s definitely not the end of the world; I’m looking at it as the beginning. I have a great life, and hopefully it will last a lot longer.”
Annual Mammograms Save Lives
“Every woman should have an annual mammogram, from age 40 on,” says Steven Reichard, DO, Director of Women’s Imaging at The Center for Breast Health at Good Samaritan Hospital. “The benefits of screening mammography are significant in that the mammography is the only imaging modality that has been proven to decrease mortality from breast cancer.”
There’s been a revolution in how breast cancer can now be diagnosed and that is 3D mammography or digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT). “Research and clinical trials have proven DBT is able to diagnose up to 30 percent more breast cancers than conventional digital mammography. With this new innovation we are able to view the breast by one-millimeter slices,” says Dr. Reichard. Currently, only about 30 percent of U.S. facilities use 3D because the units are expensive, and their use requires additional training for technicians.
Good Samaritan Hospital acquired a 3D mammogram in July 2016. It is also available at two other Westchester Medical Center Health Network hospitals: Westchester Medical Center and MidHudson Regional Hospital. “It’s a huge addition to our center and fulfills our desire to provide the most up-to-date imaging technology available,” says Dr. Reichard.
Stephanie Wander
A Diary of a Survivor
I met my current husband, Alex, in 2004, when we both worked at a luxury-car dealership. I was in the business office, and he was the parts manager. Alex likes to tell people: “It was love at first sight. I never stopped thinking about her.” We went through a lot to be together.
In 2012, we moved into a 275-year-old farmhouse in Chester and got married there on our front porch in October 2013, blending our two families into one with our four children.
The summer before our wedding, I noticed the shape of my breast was abnormal but didn’t mention it during my regular annual checkup. It became slightly worse, but I had to be ready for the wedding, finish up year-end work reports and take a business trip to Germany before I went to a March 2014 doctor’s appointment.
When my doctor advised me to see a breast specialist, I turned to Karen Karsif, MD, the Medical Director at the Center for Breast Health at Good Samaritan Hospital [a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth)]. I chose her without hesitation because she had treated my mom for a different type of cancer. I knew if something was wrong, she was the doctor I wanted to see. After my biopsy in early April, Dr. Karsif told me I had invasive lobular carcinoma which spread to my lymph nodes. I knew something was wrong — my breast was swollen; my nipple had retracted; and my nodes were large — but it’s still unreal being told you have cancer. I was very quiet and felt numb. After a few minutes, I remember saying, “Okay, what do we have to do to get rid of this?”
Dr. Karsif recommended I undergo chemotherapy treatments first, to shrink the tumor and nodes before doing a lumpectomy or mastectomy. She said that due to the size of my tumor and the node involvement, if she had operated first, I would definitely have had a mastectomy. Most women I’ve met choose mastectomy first, then chemo. They want to get the cancer out. But I went with Dr. Karsif’s advice.
Alex went with me to all my doctor’s appointments, chemo and radiation treatments, and support-group meetings. Even though he knows I’m a very independent, strong woman, he said letting me go alone “wasn’t an option.”
I expected to lose my hair, but I was really surprised when I lost my eyebrows and eyelashes, too. Losing my nails, however, was horribly upsetting, even worse for me. I didn’t realize they would turn brown and fall off. When my hair started falling out, Alex and I shaved each other’s heads. We went through everything together.
After 16 rounds of chemo, with my tumor nearly gone, Dr. Karsif performed a lumpectomy on November 11, 2014.
I had clear margins, and she removed nine cancerous lymph nodes. The follow- up month of radiation was the thing I disliked most about all of it. For 30 days, five days a week, I had to lie in a mold with tattooed blue dots on me.
In my support group, I had what I needed: an incredible group of women. What struck me most in meetings was how different every woman is. Some told no one. Some wanted to do it alone. Others had no support. Even though I had strong support from Alex, our four children, my parents and my three sisters, my personal challenge was learning to let Alex help me.
If I had to give anyone advice, I’d say find a doctor like Dr. Karsif if you can or actually go to her. I trusted her 100 percent. Also, let people help you. Lots of women have chemo, then come home, make dinner and do the laundry. For many women, telling someone no, or saying, “I want to be alone,” or “I need to sleep,” or “I need to rest,” is difficult. But you really need to take care of you first.
Alex and I agree that breast cancer could test a marriage, but he says that any barriers we may have had are gone. He never shied away from anything because of his fear. He was strong for me.
Today, we enjoy doing everything together. We were just looking for barred owls in the woods by our lake. We like to go birding, hiking and spend time on our boat, fishing, but home is our oasis.
From the beginning, I vowed cancer wouldn’t define my life. Sometimes I’ll see a TV ad for a chemo shot and think about it, but I don’t live it every day. Now, I just look forward to making my five- year mark, my 10-year mark …
And I know I will.
Whole-Person Care
According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the second- leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer.
“Getting an annual mammogram is vitally important,” states Karen Karsif, MD, FACS, Medical Director at The Center for Breast Health at Good Samaritan Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth). “Many women think breast cancer is hereditary, but that’s true only 10 percent of the time.”
Despite recurring reports about breast cancer’s supposed causes — including underwire bras, antiperspirants, eating meat — Dr. Karsif says, “Unfortunately it’s not that simple. People ask, ‘Do I need to change my diet?’ I tell them they just need to eat healthy. You have no control over this, and that’s a huge emotional challenge.
“At Good Samaritan Hospital, we also take care of the emotional side,” says Dr. Karsif. “Our breast cancer support group is very active, and patients really help each other. We care about the whole patient, kids, family, jobs, everything.”
Dr. Karsif goes on to explain that breast cancer is especially complex because of fears of losing one’s attractiveness, femininity or identity. “I tell everyone they’ll experience PTSD; they’ll see something, and it will take them back,” she says.
“The unknown is the worst thing,” Dr. Karsif continues. “Our support group is tremendously strong and sharing. It’s a safe haven to talk about things. Many women cry because it’s the first place they feel totally comfortable. When a woman is facing mastectomy or reconstruction, group veterans, who once felt terrified themselves, offer support and are a resource for the woman.”
Carol LaChiana
Cancer Fighters Team Up — And Win!
Assisted by powerful technology, the care team at Good Samaritan Hospital helps Carol LaChiana keep singing, laughing and lifting spirits.
By Melissa F. Pheterson
Some disc jockeys begin spinning records as teenagers. Carol LaChiana, on the other hand, was already a grandmother. “My son was asked to DJ a birthday party,” explains the 77-year-old. “But he couldn’t, so I filled in. The next day, my friend gave me a red tambourine and placed an ad in the PennySaver, and I was in business!” Inspired by the soundtrack to her high-school years in Brooklyn, LaChiana specialized in doo-wop parties, traveling to regional party halls from her home in Nanuet.
During treatment for bladder cancer 10 years ago at Good Samaritan Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth), LaChiana made known her sense of music and humor. After chemotherapy, when lying down and shaking limbs is recommended, she informed staff: “I’m going home to shake, rattle and roll.” The bladder cancer occurred twice — “playing hide-and-seek with me” — in 2007 and 2008. Once in remission, LaChiana turned her attention to caring for her husband, John, who has Parkinson’s disease.
But in 2017, just after Thanksgiving, LaChiana noticed a lump on her left breast. “Luckily, I had a mammogram the next month.” She returned to Good Samaritan Hospital, where a biopsy confirmed three growths in her breast: two benign, one malignant.
“This was the third time cancer found me,” LaChiana says. “At first I thought: ‘Come on, can you give me a break?’ But I wasn’t going to let it get me down.”
Breast-cancer breakthrough
“Carol’s breast cancer was Stage 1 and responsive to anti-estrogen therapy,” says John Rescigno, MD, Director of Radiation Oncology at Good Samaritan Hospital. “She was a good candidate for what we call breast conservation therapy, which allowed her to avoid a mastectomy by having a small excision, followed by radiotherapy.”
Karen Karsif, MD, Medical Director at Good Samaritan Hospital’s Center for Breast Health, performed the lumpectomy. From there, LaChiana’s care team utilized a new state-of-the-art-machine, known as the TrueBeam Linear Accelerator. At the forefront of cancer-fighting technology, this device delivers powerful and precise radiation through high-energy beams, aimed with accuracy to the millimeter.
Dramatically advanced from traditional radiation, the TrueBeam Linear Accelerator system maps the most direct path to cancer cells in tumors, taking deadly aim at its target while skirting healthy tissue. Since arriving at Good Samaritan Hospital last year, the device has shrunk tumors for hundreds of patients. In LaChiana’s case, it killed any abnormal cells that might have remained in the breast after the surgery.
“Nearly real-time image guidance makes the treatment more precise and accurate,” says Dr. Rescigno. “This allows us to spare healthy tissue, avoid side effects and safely deliver higher doses when needed. In addition, we can decrease the time it takes to treat, which improves patient comfort and outcomes. We are quite privileged to have this technology at our disposal.”
To relieve LaChiana’s anxiety and encourage her humor, the team played 1950s music during treatment. “We laughed together, and it made the treatment less scary,” says LaChiana.
“I call my doctors, nurses and care team my ‘angels,’” she says. “I couldn’t get over the empathy they showed. It’s not always medicine alone that cures a person who is ill. If you have the heartfelt feeling that they care, from the minute the receptionist greets you – it’s half the battle.”
Dr. Rescigno says his team fosters an environment that focuses on patients. “This includes keeping the patients well-informed and comfortable with the decisions they make, and assessing emotional needs, as well. We strive to make this difficult time as pleasant as possible under the circumstances.
“I am very proud of the team we have assembled that collectively has many decades of expertise in radiotherapy,” he adds. “One can have all of the technology in the world, but it is only as good as the people running it.”
High spirits, bright outlook
Throughout her treatment, LaChiana says she drew beauty and strength from patients and families in the waiting room. “You nod at each other and smile, and then you start talking; that’s when you find out there’s someone with prostate cancer, stomach cancer, colon cancer. Everyone is caring for someone else. You forget your troubles for the moment and you say, ‘Wow.’” She was so moved by the people she met and connections she made that she’s writing a short story about her experience.
After most treatment sessions, LaChiana drove to see her husband. “I didn’t want to feel sorry for myself,” she says. “I’m there every day for my husband, John. I sing to families in the nursing home, to women with Alzheimer’s; you can see, they still know the lyrics to songs from their childhood. I make families smile and laugh.”
Her sunny outlook, she knows, begins with herself.
“It’s not funny to have cancer, but I strongly believe I will beat this, that it won’t come back this time,” she says. “I tell myself: ‘Be strong; keep your chins up.’ Yes, I said chins — It’s what happens at my age. And once I know the cancer’s gone, I’ll treat myself to Dunkin’ Donuts.”