FACT: Breast cancer is the #1 cause of death for women age 35-50.
FACT: 40,000 American women still die from breast cancer every year.

Despite so many advances in medicine, the number of women still dying each year from breast cancer is overwhelming, and in many cases unnecessary– if only women had the information they needed to protect themselves. As a doctor specializing in the early detection of breast cancer, and as a mom and a girlfriend, I’ve created this website and blog to serve as a professional yet personal resource for women who are motivated to learn more about breast cancer in order to do whatever they can to save themselves from this disease. I’ve seen the women who live and the women who don’t, and it’s time for me to share what I’ve learned.

Welcome to staceyvitiellomd.com, and my blog, The Breast Diaries. Read the offerings, join the conversation, and pass it along to the women you love! I hope you find it useful.

Letter from Dr. Vitiello

 

Latest Post in the Atlantic

Latest Post in the Atlantic

Be sure to check out my full post [1] in the Atlantic for some strategies for avoiding breast cancer. I wear my seatbelt, get my flu shot, wash and sanitize my hands, wear sunscreen, scrub the fruits and veggies clean, look both ways when I cross the street, and never take candy from strangers. But what can I do to protect myself (and my family) from the single most common cause of death among women in my own age group, 35 to 50 years old? Here are a few...

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Featured Expert for Talk About Health Forum

Featured Expert for Talk About Health Forum

I was asked to serve as the expert this week for Talk About Health [1]'s online forum. Follow the link for my answers [2] to questions regarding early detection, lowering risk for breast cancer, needle biopsies, preparing for a mammogram and more. [1] http://www.TalkAboutHealth.com [2] http://talkabouthealth.com/StaceyVitielloMD/answers

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Lobbying the FDA to Mandate Breast Density Notification

Me at Union Station

[caption id="attachment_856" align="alignright" width="256" caption="Me at Union Station"] [1][/caption] In November I traveled to DC to issue a statement to the FDA advisory committee regarding breast density.  Several radiologists, breast cancer patients and advocates, representatives from the American College of Radiology, as well as Karen Handel from the Susan G. Komen foundation were on hand to render opinions regarding a new rule being considered by the FDA,...

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Why I Chose to Become a Breast Imager

Why I Chose to Become a Breast Imager

A few days ago in the park I passed a woman who was sporting a full set of hair curlers and wearing a housecoat. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen that, and it brought an image to my mind of my grandmother and her sisters in their rollers under headscarves in the 70’s, leaning from windows to hang laundry to dry on their retractable clotheslines in Jersey City. Fond memories of these ladies surfaced, and I thought about an essay I’d written in which they’d been...

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Good News For Early Detection in New Jersey!

Physicians at Montclair Breast Center

Thanks to the tireless efforts of dedicated grassroots patient advocates, NJ State Senators Loretta Weinberg and Nia Gill have sponsored a bill that will be brought before the next legislative session.  This bill requires that all mammogram reports contain information on breast density, and requires insurers to cover comprehensive breast ultrasound screening if a mammogram demonstrates dense breast tissue.  Studies have shown that adding an ultrasound to the mammogram...

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