Mary Joe Fernandez was one of the top professional tennis players in the United States during the 1990s in both singles and doubles. She won two Grand Slam doubles titles, first at the 1991 Australian Open and then at the 1996 French Open. She also won two Olympic Gold medals in doubles. After retiring in 2000, she became captain of the U.S. Fed Cup team and a television commentator for ESPN.
But after her annual mammogram in 2017, everything changed. She was diagnosed with breast cancer. Fortunately, a friend suggested she call the Dubin Breast Center. Once she arrived and met with the team, she knew she had found the right place for her treatment and recovery.
Mary Joe Fernandez and her husband, Anthony Godsick
“My journey with the Dubin Breast Center has been one of compassion and caring—and of confidence,” she says. “They really have mastered how to make a really difficult time in a woman’s life into something they can get through and have hope.”
Ms. Fernandez was one of two women honored at the Dubin Breast Center Annual Benefit, which celebrated its 12th anniversary. She recounted her story in an emotional video that was presented during the event.
The event was held Monday, December 12, at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York. More than 300 guests attended, and the event raised more than $3 million to support the Dubin Breast Center of The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai Health System.
The second honoree was Hanna Yoko Irie, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology, and Oncological Sciences) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She was honored for her contributions to the field of breast cancer research—most notably her work in triple-negative breast cancer, which is both more aggressive and harder to treat than other types—and for the care she provides to her patients at the Dubin Breast Center.
“We’ve been able to find new genes that promote or drive the growth of a subset of these triple-negative breast cancers,” Dr. Irie says, “targeting specific pathways but also understanding better how we can help boost the immune system.” Dr. Irie’s contributions to the Center as a physician-scientist were also described in this video.
The event was hosted by Mount Sinai Health System Trustee Eva Andersson-Dubin, MD, who founded the Center, and Elisa Port, MD, FACS, Chief of Breast Surgery and the Center’s Co-Director.
“The mission of the Dubin Breast Center has always been to deliver the most cutting-edge, groundbreaking research combined with the most compassionate care,” says Dr. Port. You can hear more from Dr. Port in a video that was also presented at the gala.
The Dubin Breast Center is also leading the way in early detection and was the first in New York City to offer 3D mammography. The Center performs more than 12,000 mammograms a year.
“Under the direction of Dr. Eva Andersson-Dubin and Dr. Elisa Port, the Dubin Breast Center will transform breast cancer research and care for decades to come,” says Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President of the Mount Sinai Health System.