In December of 2021, after undergoing a lumpectomy to remove a growth in her breast followed by precautionary radiation thereafter, Sag Harbor resident Stephanie Leibowitz hoped her cancer journey was behind her. Two years later, in December of 2023, biannual blood work showed a different and aggressive cancer had formed, Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. “I was shocked and then of course I was scared, the other “s” word, because this was an outcome I had not mentally prepared myself for,” Stephanie confided. “But immediately I was assured by the staff at The Phillips Family Cancer Center and Dr. Yarovikova that we would take this one step at a time and go at this diagnosis full force.”

While the journey has been long and arduous, Stephanie credits an optimistic attitude and Dr. Yarovikova’s relentless efforts to find the most effective treatments as the reason she maintains a positive mindset. “I have strong confidence in the care I receive at The Phillips Family Cancer Center,” she says, “I know that everybody there is working together to make sure that whatever treatment I’m receiving is always going to be the best for me.”

“It is a privilege to be Stephanie’s medical oncologist,” says Dr. Yarovikova. “My goal is to prepare my patients and for them to know that I am here with them every step of the way,” she says.

Stephanie feels the best advice she can give anyone who may receive a cancer diagnosis is “Healing is not always linear. You make some progress and then you might have an obstacle here and there, but you must maintain a positive mindset,” she says. An affirmation that she has come back to many times in the last few years is a simple one: ‘Every day I’m getting healthier and stronger.’

The National Cancer Institute cites that Triple-Negative Breast Cancer affects 13 in every 100,000 females in the United States. To speak with a member of our care team at The Phillips Family Cancer Center, please call (631) 638–7400.