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Monica G Valero, MD

Assistant Professor of Surgery (Oncology)
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Additional Titles

Director, Hispanic Breast Cancer Program

About

Titles

Assistant Professor of Surgery (Oncology)

Director, Hispanic Breast Cancer Program

Biography

Monica G. Valero, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Surgery (Surgical Oncology) at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital and cares for patients at the Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Centers in New Haven, Trumbull and Fairfield/Bridgeport Hospital where she is Director of the Hispanic Breast Cancer Program. Prior to joining Yale, Dr. Valero was an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where she was also Director of the Hispanic Breast Cancer Program.

Dr. Valero received her medical degree from Universidad Central de Venezuela Medical School in Caracas, Venezuela and completed her residency training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA. She then completed a breast surgical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY. Dr. Valero provides high quality surgical care to patients, while striving to improve access to care and promote innovation within the field of breast surgery. Her research interests include breast conserving surgery, racial disparities in breast cancer, and axillary management of breast disease. She is actively involved in quality improvement projects to optimize surgical treatment of underserved populations with breast cancer.

Appointments

Education & Training

MD
Universidad Central de Venezuela Medical School

Research

Overview

Research interests include breast conserving surgery, racial disparities in breast cancer, and axillary management of breast disease. She is actively involved in quality improvement projects to optimize surgical treatment of underserved populations with breast cancer.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Medically Underserved Area

Clinical Care

Overview

Monica Valero, MD, is a surgical oncologist at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital who specializes in breast cancer treatment.

Dr. Valero says her interest in breast surgery began in medical school when she got a sense of the rapid advances being made in surgical options.

“There was this evolution in the types of surgical treatments that can minimize the extent of surgery or tailor the treatment to specific cancer subtypes, allowing women to have better outcomes and less invasive procedures,” she says.

Dr. Valero is director of the Hispanic Breast Cancer Program, an outreach initiative with the goal of helping to help minimize the gap in breast cancer care among Hispanic women.

“We want to understand the needs and challenges that the Hispanic population faces in terms of prevention and treatment for breast cancer,” Dr. Valero explains. “We provide holistic care that is accessible for all patients, and we are mindful of the cultural and social barriers in terms of breast cancer care exclusion.”

With all patients, Dr. Valero says she begins by giving them an overview of the latest data on outcomes and prognoses for breast cancer. “We know that the majority of patients present with a curable disease,” she says. “And even if we have a patient with a later-stage cancer that is not curable, there are still many treatment options available to her. I focus on the surgical options, but surgery is intertwined with the medical oncology and radiation oncology teams, too.”

Dr. Valero’s research interests are focused on breast conservation surgery and equity and inclusion in breast cancer treatment for underserved populations.

Clinical Specialties

Breast Surgical Oncology

Fact Sheets

Board Certifications

  • Surgery General

    Certification Organization
    AB of Surgery
    Original Certification Date
    2021

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