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Rachel Greenup, MD, MPH

Associate Professor of Surgery (Oncology, Breast)
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Additional Titles

Section Chief of Breast Surgery, Surgery

Co-Director, Center for Breast Cancer

About

Titles

Associate Professor of Surgery (Oncology, Breast)

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

Biography

Dr. Greenup is an Associate Professor of Surgery (Oncology) and Chief of Breast Surgical Oncology. She provides coordinated, state-of-the-art care to patients with benign and malignant diseases of the breast as part of the Center for Breast Cancer at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center.

Learn more about Dr. Greenup

She earned her undergraduate degrees in Zoology and Psychology at the University of Wisconsin, where she also completed a Master of Public Health. She received her medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin where she also completed her General Surgery residency, and went on to complete a fellowship as part of The Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital Breast Surgery Fellowship.

Prior to joining Yale, Dr. Greenup was an Associate Professor of Surgery and Population Health Sciences at the Duke University School of Medicine and Duke Cancer Institute. There she founded the Duke Breast Cancer Outcomes Research Group, and Core Faculty for the Duke Margolis Center for Health Policy. In 2016, she received the National Institutes of Health Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) Award to evaluate how financial costs and burden relate to preference-sensitive decisions for breast cancer surgery. In 2017, she was named the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Breast Surgeons Health Policy Scholar. Her 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.

Appointments

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

2024

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Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • activity

    New England Surgical Society

    Professional 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

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