On Sunday, January 19, 2025, Dr. Tracy Battaglia interviewed Monica Valero, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery (Oncology) and Director of the Hispanic Breast Cancer Program. Dr. Valero is a surgical oncologist at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital who specializes in breast cancer treatment. She says that her interest in breast surgery began in medical school when she got a sense of the rapid advances being made in surgical options.
On this episode of Yale Cancer Answers, Dr. Valero discusses the needs and challenges that the Hispanic population faces in terms of prevention and treatment for breast cancer. 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,” said Dr. Valero. “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.