Rache M. Simmons, M.D.

Dr. Rache M. Simmons is a nationally and internationally renowned breast cancer surgeon at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She is recognized for her innovations and contributions in the field of minimally invasive breast cancer surgery.

Dr. Simmons is a graduate of Duke University and Duke University Medical School. After her surgical training at the University of North Carolina, she did a Breast Oncology Fellowship at New York-Presbyterian Hospital where she then was invited to join the surgical faculty. She has been on the surgical faculty since that time and is a Professor of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College; the Anne K. and Edwin C. Weiskopf Professor of Surgical Oncology and an Attending Surgeon at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

For her clinical work she has been selected by the NY Post Best Cancer Doctors and by Castle Connolly Guide Top Doctors in the New York Metro Area, and Best Doctors in America. Dr. Simmons is recognized as one of New York's SuperDoctors, an honor accorded only 5 percent of physicians in New York. She has been named "Best Doctors in New York" by New York Magazine and named by US News & World Report as one of "America's Best Doctors", cited as among the top 1% of doctors in the country.

Dr. Simmons is very interested exploring new ways to improve the cosmetic appearance of patients who need breast cancer surgery. Obviously, the most important goal is to cure the breast cancer but how the patient appears after the surgical treatment has a significant impact on her ability to resume her normal life. Because of the concern to maintain optimal cosmetic results, Dr. Simmons has done extensive research in ways to provide minimally invasive and cosmetically advantageous surgery to her patients. She is a pioneer in skin sparing mastectomy in which she has the largest published series in the New York Metropolitan Area. Dr. Simmons is well known as having developed the Skin and Areola Sparing Mastectomy technique. Today, many of her patients have a mastectomy that saves all the skin of the breast as well as the nipple areolar complex. After immediate reconstruction of the patient's breast the appearance is very natural, such that in many patients it is difficult to tell she underwent any surgery at all. Dr. Simmons states that she always finds it a complement when her patient's other doctors must ask during examination "which breast had the mastectomy?"

She is the first surgeon in the New York Metropolitan Area to evaluate the use of cryoablation (freezing) to destroy both benign breast tumors and breast cancers. As a result of her research this technology has become an acknowledged option for the treatment of benign tumors called fibroadenomas. She is the lead investigator in a National Institutes of Health multicenter trial evaluating this type of ablative therapy as a treatment for breast cancer. This is expected to usher in a new era of treatment of breast cancers without surgery in the near future.

Dr. Simmons is a prolific writer and speaker on her research topics, which predominantly involve ways to treat breast cancer patients with less invasive and more cosmetically desirable techniques. Dr. Simmons is the author of over 100 peer reviewed scientific articles and book chapters on the surgical treatment of breast cancer and has been invited to lecture at 100 national and international professional medical conferences. Not only is she a popular expert scientific lecturer, she is often interviewed by media such as CNN, CBS Evening News, Good Morning America, Fox News and ABC Evening News. Her research has been featured in many publications, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine and Ladies Home Journal. She was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show about her pioneering work in the field of breast cancer surgery.

Because of her national and international respected reputation as a researcher and breast cancer surgeon, she was elected as the President of the American Society of Breast Surgeons in 1999. She also serves on multiple regional and national medical boards such as the Surgical Oncology Advisory Committee of the American Board of Surgery, Board of Directors of National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, Board of Directors of the Commission on Cancer, Susan G. Komen Foundation Medical Advisory Committee for the Greater NYC Area.

To view Dr. Simmons featured in US News and World Report, click here

To view the PBS story featuring Dr. Simmon's breakthrough treatment for breast cancer click here

To view Dr. Simmon's interview about new non-invasive surgical treatment for breast cancer on WCBS-TV, click here

To view Dr. Simmons' interview about 3-D Breast Cancer detection on ABC-TV Good Morning America, please click here

To view a video of Dr. Simmons talking about the newest surgical treatments for breast cancer, click here

To view Dr. Simmons study on cryoblation for early stage breast cancer click here

To view Dr. Simmons interview on Fox 5 News at 6 on the importance of breast self examination, click here    

To view Dr. Simmons on Fox 5 News, click here  

To view an ad featuring Dr. Rache Simmons, please click here