Skip to Main Content
Yale School of Medicine
YSM Home

INFORMATION FOR

Rachel Greenup, MD, MPH

Professor
DownloadHi-Res Photo

Are You a Patient?

View this doctor's clinical profile on the Yale Medicine website for information about the services we offer and making an appointment.

View Doctor Profile

Additional Titles

Section Chief of Breast Surgery, Surgery

Co-Director, Center for Breast Cancer

About

Titles

Professor

Section Chief of Breast Surgery, Surgery; Co-Director, Center for Breast Cancer

Biography

Dr. Rachel Greenup, MD, MPH, FACS, is a Professor of Surgery (Oncology) at the Yale School of Medicine, Chief of Breast Surgical Oncology at Smilow Cancer Hospital, and Co-Director of the Center for Breast Cancer. She is a nationally recognized leader in breast surgery, known for her patient-centered approach to cancer care and research on reducing the financial, emotional, and logistical burden that breast cancer treatment places on patients and families. Her academic career has been distinguished by a focus on aligning high value cancer through shared decision-making.

Dr. Greenup graduated with Honors from the University of Wisconsin with dual majors in Bachelor of Arts of Zoology and Psychology, later earning a Master of Public Health from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. She received her medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin, where she also completed her general surgery residency from 2004-2011. She went on to pursue a breast surgical oncology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. From 2012-2021, she was faculty at the Duke University School of Medicine prior to being recruited to Yale.

Dr. Greenup has published extensively, contributing to over 140 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Her work has earned her several national honors, including the National Institutes of Health BIRCWH Award in 2016 and the American College of Surgeons/American Society of Breast Surgeons Health Policy Scholar Award in 2017. In 2022, she was awarded an R01 from the National Cancer Institute to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of a decision support tool for young women with breast cancer.

Dr. Greenup has served on multiple national committees, including the American Society of Breast Surgeons Legislative Committee, the Alliance in Clinical Oncology Ethics Committee and Value in Cancer Care Working Group, American College of Surgeons Cancer Care Delivery Task Force, the Association of Academic Surgeons Health Services Research Committee (2019-2021) and on the Surgical Outcomes Club Board as an At-Large Director (2022-2025). She is a member of the editorial board for Annals of Surgical Oncology and Journal of Clinical Oncology, Oncology Practice. In 2025, she was awarded the Walter Longo award for positively influencing the culture of Yale Department of Surgery.

Dr. Greenup has actively mentored and sponsored over thirty trainees and junior faculty from diverse backgrounds and across institutions (Yale, Duke, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Ohio State University, Allegheny, and Johns Hopkins). In addition, she has served as the Program Director for the SSO Interdisciplinary Breast Fellowship at Duke (2015-2021) and Yale (2021-present).

In her clinical practice, Dr. Greenup is deeply committed to multidisciplinary care. She collaborates closely with medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, reconstructive surgeons, pathologists, and support staff to ensure comprehensive, personalized treatment for every patient. Her philosophy centers on empowering patients through shared decision-making, helping them navigate their diagnosis and treatment in a way that restores both their physical health and emotional well-being.

Last Updated on September 30, 2025.

Appointments

  • Surgical Oncology

    Professor
    Primary

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

MD
Medical College of Wisconsin (2009)
MPH
University of Wisconsin (2009)

Research

Overview

Dr. Greenup's research focuses on aligning patient-centered care with high-quality, lower cost treatment. She serves on several national committees, including the Alliance in Clinical Oncology Ethics and Value Committees, the American College of Surgeons Cancer Care Delivery Task Force, the American Society of Breast Surgeons Legislative Committee, and the Editorial Board for the Annals of Surgical Oncology.

Currently, her research focuses on shared surgical decision-making for women with breast cancer, cancer-related financial toxicity, costs of cancer care and patient experiences through the cancer journey.

Medical Research Interests

Breast Diseases

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Rachel Greenup's published research.

Publications

2025

See All Publications

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

Activities

  • activity

    New England Surgical Society

    09/07/2022 - PresentProfessional OrganizationsMember

Clinical Care

Overview

Rachel Greenup, MD, MPH, is chief of Breast Surgical Oncology at Smilow Cancer Hospital and specializes in treating benign breast diseases as well as breast cancer, which she calls a common but complicated diagnosis.

Given the different types of breast cancer and different treatments, Dr. Greenup says she wholeheartedly believes in patient-centered cancer care. “Women are often the decision makers and the centers of their families, and they come to us with partners, spouses, children, parents that are there to support them through their diagnosis,” she says. “One of the best parts of being a breast surgical oncologist is participating in true shared decisions with women and their families in terms of identifying a treatment plan that is tailored for them and works for them and their lives.”

At the Smilow Cancer Center, Dr. Greenup says patients benefit from subspecialists in surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, pathology, breast imaging, and breast reconstruction. “We also have social support services through Smilow Cancer Center that really provides tailored care to women with breast cancer,” she says. “The literature is quite clear that treatment at a high-volume center does improve patient outcomes and the quality of treatment women have along the way.”

Fortunately, so many women are diagnosed with breast cancer at a very early stage, that it’s curable and treatable, she adds. “I think we've come a really long way in the last 50 years allowing women to remain whole and both physically and emotionally as they are treated for breast cancer without compromising an excellent cancer outcomes,” Dr. Greenup says. “The best part of my job is being able to meet women at the time of a really scary diagnosis and take them to surgery and physically remove their disease. And then, see them a year or two later when they're healthy and back to their life.”

Dr. Greenup’s research focuses on the burden of cancer care on patients as they go through treatment and beyond. “This includes the financial burden, the disruption to their employment or their family structure, and number of appointments they come into, the number of times they have to take days off work and thinking about how we can potentially reduce the burden for our patients while also preserving resources for the population as a whole.”

Clinical Specialties

Breast Surgical Oncology; Breast Oncology

Fact Sheets

See All Fact Sheets On Yale Medicine

Yale Medicine News

See All News On Yale Medicine

Are You a Patient?

View this doctor's clinical profile on the Yale Medicine website for information about the services we offer and making an appointment.

View Doctor Profile

Get In Touch

Contacts

Email
Appointment Number

Locations

  • Patient Care Locations

    Are You a Patient? View this doctor's clinical profile on the Yale Medicine website for information about the services we offer and making an appointment.

    See Patient Care Locations