Tamar's Story
Tamar Lemoine was successfully treated for late-stage breast cancer by the team at Mount Sinai South Nassau and urges women to get their annual mammograms.
It was Halloween 2021 — in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic — when doctors instructed Tamar Lemoine, then 66, of Valley Stream, to undergo a biopsy after a mammogram detected a suspicious mass in her right breast.
The primary caregiver for her mother, who was sick with diabetes and legally blind, Lemoine did not want to risk catching the virus and infecting her. She also figured her test results would probably be benign, as they were in 2019 when she underwent a biopsy of her right breast.
A year later, in October 2022, Lemoine felt a large lump in her right breast. This time, she didn’t put off the biopsy after a mammogram detected an even larger suspicious mass. The biopsy result: positive for cancer. Doctors immediately referred Lemoine to Dr. Christine Hodyl, director of Breast Health Services at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside.
Lemoine was diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer, requiring a comprehensive treatment plan that started with chemo-therapy every three weeks for three months followed by breast-conserving lumpectomy surgery along with the removal of several lymph nodes, which was performed in May 2023 by Dr. Hodyl in collaboration with a plastic surgeon, Dr. Anke Ott Young. The final stage of the plan: a month of radiation therapy.
Now cancer-free and 68, Lemoine advises women to “have your annual mammogram and don’t put it off. Do everything your doctor tells you to do.”
Dr. Hodyl and Mount Sinai South Nassau’s breast surgeons use advanced surgical techniques to treat breast cancer, including breast-conserving surgery that focuses on preserving healthy tissue. Each treatment plan is tailored to the individual patient. Mount Sinai South Nassau’s cancer program is accredited by the Commission on Cancer and National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers.
To schedule a consultation or for more information about Mount Sinai South Nassau Breast Health, call 516-632-3350.
Learn More
Breast cancer care
Services at the Mount Sinai South Nassau Center for Women's Imaging
Overview of other cancer services at Mount Sinai South Nassau
Computer-assisted (or robotic) procedures
National certifications for care and quality
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