Advanced Breast Cancer Clinic

MD Anderson’s Advanced Breast Cancer Clinic (ABC Clinic) offers personalized treatment from many of the nation’s top breast cancer care providers using the most advanced diagnostics and therapies. It is open to all metastatic breast cancer patients treated at MD Anderson.

What is advanced breast cancer?

When breast cancer spreads beyond the breast and nearby lymph nodes to other parts of the body, such as the bones, brain, liver or lungs, it is called advanced breast cancer. Other names include metastatic or stage IV breast cancer. Even though the disease may be found in other organs, it is still considered and treated as breast cancer.

Most cases of advanced breast cancer are not considered curable. Instead, it is treated like a chronic illness. The goal of care is to prolong life and maintain the patient’s quality of life. With emerging therapies and treatments, many metastatic breast cancer patients can live well for years.

Why get care from the ABC Clinic?

The clinic’s team of physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and other support staff work together to provide comprehensive, coordinated treatment. The ABC clinic offers the latest standard therapies, many of which started as clinical trials at MD Anderson.

In addition, clinic physicians currently lead multiple clinical trials for advanced breast cancer. Many of these cannot be found anywhere else. Clinic team members will help patients monitor these trials and identify ones that benefit each patient most. When a suitable trial is found, the clinic team will navigate the patient through the application process. This includes helping the patient apply to the trial, answering questions about the proposed treatment, transitioning the patient onto the trial and coordinating care between different teams. 

Patients also benefit from the expertise and resources available at one of the nation’s top-ranked comprehensive cancer centers. The clinic helps patients access these service in order to improve their overall health and quality of life. Services include:

• Patient support programs, including support groups for advanced breast cancer patients, myCancerConnection, and Pink Ribbon Volunteers.
• Health care services, such as our Bone Health Clinic, Sleep Center, gynecology/sexual health services, lymphedema therapy, occupational and physical therapy, fatigue management, genetic counseling, pain management, internal medicine services, psychological/psychiatric care and supportive care.
• Educational resources, such as in-person patient education classes, our on-site Learning Center, and nutrition counseling.
• Clinical trial screening, including evaluation and counseling for applicable investigational therapy opportunities.
• Counseling services, including chaplaincy and social work.
• Integrative medicine services, such as acupuncture, massage, nutrition consultations, exercise and physical activity consultations, meditation, and more.
• Cosmetic services, including Appearances, a shop offering wigs, bras and prosthetics for breast cancer patients; and a beauty/barber shop that provides free haircuts, shaves, shampoos, scarves, wigs and hats.

Patient support webinar

The Advanced Breast Cancer Program and Clinic invite all MD Anderson patients and caregivers to participate in the webinar series “The ABCs of Healthy Living in Challenging Times.” This multidisciplinary weekly series will focus on topics such as diet, exercise, sleep, mental health, telemedicine and more. Please join us for virtual community and tips for maintaining healthy living during these challenging times. To participate, please email ABCProgram@mdanderson.org.