Saar A. Porrath MD was a medical pioneer and breast oncologist
who dedicated his practice to providing cutting-edge breast
health care and fostering patient communication and advocacy: seeing
patient and physician as a partnership.
An internationally renowned breast oncologist, radiation therapist,
consultant, author and speaker, the late Saar A. Porrath MD
was a visionary in the medical diagnosis and treatment of
women’s health, especially breast disease. He pioneered
the development of non-invasive needle biopsies for the breast
and other organs. Dr. Porrath opened the first breast diagnostic
center in Los Angeles in 1975. In 1983, he created the Woman’s
Breast Center, a stand alone multimodality diagnostic breast
center that became a medical blueprint and an effective business
model for the industry.
During his career, Dr. Porrath served as President of the
American Society of Breast Disease, The National Consortium
of Breast Centers, Vice-President and Treasurer of the International
Society of Senology (Breast) and member of the Alternative
Medicine Committee of the American Cancer Society. Dr. Porrath
was honored by Los Angeles County and by the cities of Los
Angeles and Santa Monica, among others, for his contributions
to health care, especially for his groundbreaking work in
the advancement of breast disease diagnosis and treatment.
A summary of his work can be found in his book, The Multimodality
Approach to Breast Imaging.
Dr. Porrath consulted with healthcare policymakers, including
Congresswoman Jane Harmon, and California Assembly members
Barbara Friedman and Jackie Goldberg, to integrate his ideas
into legislation to benefit the public. He was successful
in helping to secure congressional approval of mammograms
for women under 50 and, in California, using cigarette tax
money for breast cancer research.
Dr. Porrath’s interest in patient/physician partnerships
took on new meaning during his two-year battle with plasma
cell leukemia. He more fully realized the necessity for trained
cancer patient advocates to help cancer patients and caregivers
better navigate the challenges of cancer. He subsequently
developed his patient centered Personal Cancer Management
System (PCMS). In 1999, he and his wife, Toni Bernay PhD,
founded the Porrath Foundation for Cancer Patient Advocacy
to put his plan into action. Dr. Porrath consulted and spoke
nationally and internationally on the PCMS to audiences ranging
from health professionals such as The American Psychological
Association, Jefferson and Cedars-Sinai Hospitals in Philadelphia
and Los Angeles; patient and public interest groups including
National Cancer Survivors Day and the International Myeloma
Foundation; corporate groups including E-Z-EM Corporation,
medical equipment manufacturers, Ortho-Biotech Pharmaceuticals
and health systems in emerging economies around the world
including Brazil and Bulgaria.
Saar Porrath also used his expertise and cancer experience
to refine the Personal Cancer Management System. He incorporated
it into a book to help others organize and deal with the avalanche
of information, options and the painful and overwhelming experience
of having cancer. The book, When It’s Cancer---10 Essential
Steps to Take Following the Diagnosis will be published in
September, 2005 by Rodale Press. It reveals how Drs Porrath
and Bernay used their insights, discoveries and the tools
of the PCMS to fight cancer, using this struggle to bring
to life the Porrath Foundation for Cancer Patient Advocacy
for the benefit of cancer patients and their families.
Born January 3, 1937, Dr. Porrath received his MD from State
University of New York, Buffalo, and his BA from Niagara University.
