Breast Care Center, Dobbs Ferry Pavilion
Meet Jamie Pleva an optimistic, confident and just plain beautiful woman. What is not as obvious is that she is a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed over 5 years ago and with the help of St. John’s Riverside Hospital’s Breast Care Center and Dr. Ashikari she beat it and is living cancer-free. “I like to read, travel and spend time with my amazing family and friends. Diagnosed in 2008, I am 34 and 5 years cancer-free”.
What is not as obvious is that she is a breast cancer survivor. Today, not only do women have much better odds of beating breast cancer, they also can rest assured that the procedures and outcomes are now, more than ever, designed to consider their emotional and physical well-being. St. John’s Riverside Hospital is clearly a leader in advances in breast care technology but what you are probably not aware of is that they are also the leaders in understanding that the patient is a person. St. John’s doctors make it their priority to know their patients. Jamie’s doctor, Dr. Andrew Ashikari can not only tell you Jamie’s name but he can tell you details about her family, every one of her questions and also knows every one of her fears.
Jamie’s surgery was over three years ago and over a thousand patients ago, yet Dr. Ashikari can recite this same level of detail for every one of his other patients as if they were a dear friend. Combine this with the fact that Dr. Ashikari is part of a nationally accredited Breast Care Center that has advanced technology beyond most other centers. The latest example is the IRCT (Intraoperative Radiation Cancer Therapy) which is capable of delivering radiation to a very specific area during surgery that untimely leads to the reduction and eventual elimination of lengthy radiation treatments. In addition, St. John’s Riverside Hospital’s breast care doctors have pioneered a one-step procedure that reconstructs the breast and saves the nipple for immediate cosmetic reconstruction during surgery. The results are both life changing, and as you can see, beautiful.