Breastlink founder Dr. John West talks about his medical background, why he decided to specialize in breast cancer treatment, and the changes that have occurred in breast cancer surgery.
Dr. West attended Berkley and UC San Francisco Medical School before spending six years as a surgical resident. He also spent one year in England, working in their national health system. He came to Orange County in 1973 as a general and vascular surgeon. He created the nation’s first trauma care system in Orange County and trauma centers across the country adopted his model. As general surgery grew more complicated, he decided to focus in on one type of surgery. The exciting changes in breast care impressed him, so he decided to make it his focus.
When Dr. West was young, doctors only treated breast cancer with radical mastectomies, which was very disfiguring. Around 1975, surgeons learned they didn’t have to perform mastectomies on every patient and if they did, they could reconstruct the woman’s breasts afterwards. They could catch breast cancer earlier and treat it more effectively. He opened Orange County’s first breast care center in 1988 and has been working with cancer patients for over 30 years.
To learn more about Dr. West, Breastlink, and breast cancer, visit our website: www.breastlink.com
