Locations
Carolina Breast Care Specialists, PA
Raleigh, NC
My office hours
Thursday: 9:00am - 5:00pm
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About
Bio
Throughout his career, Dr. Canale has held an interest in breast health issues building skills and knowledge in this area. He is an active member of the American Society of Breast Surgeons and the American Society of Breast Disease (having served on the Communications Committee and Membership Committee for the latter). Dr. Canale previously co-chaired the Breast Care Committee at Rex Hospital and single handedly established the first and only weekly breast specific multidisciplinary tumor conference in Wake County.
Specialty skills include breast ultrasound, ultrasound and stereotactic guided procedures, image guided minimally invasive (core) biopsies, sentinel lymph node mapping/biopsy, SAVI placement for accelerated partial breast irradiation, and cryoablation of benign breast lesions.
SpecialtiesDoctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Doctors may have more than one area of specialty interest. Board certification in a specialty area means the doctor has completed formal training and has practice experience in that specialty, and has passed the certification examination from the corresponding accredited medical specialty board.
Breast Surgery
Doctor Q&A
162 Answers
100 Agrees
The number of answers this doctor has agreed with.
A 21-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Yes. like ERT: The increase risk is similar to that of unopposed estrogen replacement therapy. It is important that all your doctors (esp your gyn in this case) are... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 22-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Yes w/ongoing evol.: Current thinking has identified different subtypes of breast cancer based on their cellular origin and genetic makeup - luminal (phenobarbital) a, lum... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 35-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
No: It's not the test that's the big deal, it's what one does with the information. Understanding what a positive and negative test means and what the de... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 22-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Node staging: With invasive cancer, ax nodes are often the 1st site away from the breast. Staging used to be removing the ax fat pad w/12-15 nodes. As most pts are... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.1k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Good prognosis: "early stage" means it was detected early. That generally means a relatively small (amenable to lumpectomy/breast conservation) with no or minimal ly... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Yes but same survive: The survival rates for breast conservation and mastectomy are the same. There is a slightly higher rate of local recurrence for breast conservation (... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 43-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Options: 1st-a family history does not mean its a predetermined fact for you but influences risk. Options include 1)increased screening incl. Bmri, 2)chemo pre... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 30-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Maybe: The axillary nodes (actually the whole chest and upper abdomen) are included in the bmri images but the test is focused on the breast tissue. The bmr... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Sometimes: If chemo is going to be given, there can be benefits to neoadjuvant therapy. The survival impact is the same but chemo first can take someone from no... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 40-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Type of growth: Hyperplasia = increased growth (may be normal or abnormal cells)
dysplasia=abnormal cell growth.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Minimal: This is done with local anesth. Once the breast is numb one should only feel pressure but no pain from the biopsy needle. Afterwards there is soreness... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Variable: Anythng hat draws your attention and resists is worth evaluating. If you're concerned then your doctor should be. The goal of breast self exam is not ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 30-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Not necessarily: Bmris are used for "in breast" staging of newly diagnosed cancer and also as an adjunct to mammograms for screening of high risk women. You would obv... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 48-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Yes: Tam has 3 rolls-1)w/invasive cancer, it's systemic therapy like chemo 2)in breast conservation (dcis or inv) it reduces the risk of local recur above ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 36-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Out of network?: It is unlikely the anesthesia would not be covered as a service for an indicated surgery but it is possible the anesthesiologist may have been out of ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 40-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Depends: A lot of different factors are used to predict prognosis in breast cancer and stage is one. Grade (how similar or different from normal breast tissue... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 29-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Usually slow: The general guideline for a benign lesion (i.e. Fibroadenoma) is ~ 10%/year. Over a long period of time (15-20 years) they can actually atrophy and r... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Same class,diff drug: Both Taxol (paclitaxel) and taxotere (docetaxel) (docetaxol) are of the class of cytotoxic chemotherapy drugs known as taxanes. They are different ch... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years agoMerged
A 39-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Usually: The gold standard oncologic mastectomy still includes removal of all the glandular tissue including the nipple/areolar complex since the ducts insert ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 44-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Skin punch bx: One may be able to tell by clinical evaluation if it is obviously one or the other. The ultimate diagnosis can be made via skin punch biopsy which ca... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Hopefully not: Benign breast tumors (i.e. Fibroadenomas) can be addressed percutaneously via vacuum assisted excision or cryoablation with min. Scar and little or n... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 48-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Depends on pt: Lumpectomy alone is fine under local with sedation added. Pts usually fall asleep but don't need to be "put" to sleep with breathing tube & paralysis... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 47-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Radical?: Radical mastectomy (removal of the breast, axillary nodes, and the chest wall muscle behind the bread)t is rarely done now except for a locally advanc... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 24-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
See breast surg: 5 weeks is not an appropriate interval. A breast surgeon will understand this and often will workin a new patient w/ a lump within 24-48hrs. Any bre... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
U/s then biopsy: If the mammogram is "suspicious", then a biopsy is indicated to establish a diagnosis. 80-85% will still end up benign. In almost all cases the samp... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 29-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Excision of lump: A lumpectomy is a lay term for removal of a lump. As a surgical procedure, it should only come after a diagnosis is established. This can and should... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
"clear" margins: The total volume of removed tissue depends on the size of the tumor (larger tumor=larger excision). The surgical treatment of the cancer requires it ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 38-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Depends on technique: Classic radiation is given via external beams to whole breast over 6-7 weeks with primarily local affect like mild repeated sunburn (redness, irritati... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Plastic surgery: It should be offered as a part of the reconstruction process following a mastectomy. If not, seek out a plastic surgeon with expertise in breast recon... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
~48hrs: Most basic pathology results from a biopsy should be available in ~48hrs. The tissue needs to fix in formalin for a particular amount of time (6hrs-ov... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 32-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Bisphosphonates: Evista is primarily given to combat/prevent osteoporosis. Alternative medications are bisphosphonates such as fosamax, actonel, boniva. Reclast (zole... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Maybe: Most d/c is being/physiologic. The most concerning is a unilateral (1 duct from 1breast), spontaneous, bloody d/c. Even this is usually related to an ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Yes: Calcs are a very common usually benign mmg finding. Additional views help to characterize the calcifications by their appearance (i.e. Pleomorphic, c... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 52-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
ALH: Atypical lobular hyperplasia (alh) is an overgrowth of the cells lining the lobules which are the sacks at the ends of the breast ducts and the cells ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 41-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
2 basic types: There are implant reconstructions (behind the chest wall muscle) and tissue reconstructions. The latter include skin and fat from other areas (i.e. T... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Either possible: Fine needle aspiration(fna) uses a 21-18g needle to pull cellular material from a target lesion for cytologic evaluation. Core biopsy uses 14-9t needl... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 40-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Absolutely: Stereotactic guidance is frequently used to guide breast needle biopsies particularly of microcalcifications. If a lesion can be seen under ultrasoun... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.7k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 28-year-old female asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
I&D, derm, plastics: Abscesses that are not responding to more conservative measures may need to be incised and drained. A general surgeon can help address these acute is... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.9k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 40-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Not usually: Most things that cause pain usually aren't cancer and most cancers don't cause pain until they become advanced and obvious.
That said, if there is... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 30-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Gene, marker : Her2 refers to a gene present in many normal cells that codes for a cell surface protein. In 10-15% of breast cancers it is amplified (multiple copie... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 29-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Herceptin (trastuzumab): The local treatment option (breast conservation versus mastectomy) are the same. The diff comes with systemic therapy. Her2+ cancers are more aggressi... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 54-year-old male asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
"true" nodal status?: With neoadj therapy, prognostic infor of staging after therapy is likely the more telling. Studies show slnbx after chemo still accurately predicts a... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Likely: With any invasive breast cancer diagnosis, nodal staging is usually indicated most often via sentinel node mapping/biopsy. If there are palpable node... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
A 22-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
See other answer: Actually, the genetic sample can now be obtained through a mouth rinse without the need to draw blood. Yes, one should understand the repercussions of... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 21-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Ultimately by bx: Clinical examination and imaging (mmgs, u/s, etc) can give helpful information and suggest the likelihood of benign vs malig but definitive diagnosis ... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 35-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Hormonal Therapy: The vast majority (80-85%) of breast cancer is hormone sensitive/driven. Pathology testing can determine if a tumor is er+. Unless otherwise contrai... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6.1k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 37-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Not "attack": Bone and joint symptoms are a very common side effect of ais (femara/letrozole, arimidex/anastrazole, aromasin/exemestane) typically affecting smaller... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
6k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 42-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Not necessarily: For calcifications alone, ultrasound is generally not helpful. Unless there are many and fairly large, they generally won't be seen on ultrasound (or... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
4k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old female asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Few days: Due to tech issues how a needle approaches a location, 3 stbx's will likely have 3 puncture sites. Under u/s, one might be able to approach 2 or more... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
A 39-year-old member asked:

Dr. Sean Canaleanswered
Breast Surgery 32 years experience
Based on pathology: T: size of the largest primary focus (don't add multiple foci
n: nodal involvement (and total number of involved nodes)
m: presence of distant mets
th... Read More
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.8k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
TestimonialsRecommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
Recommendations and Thank you notes are endorsements given from patients or other doctors.
2
Recommendations
380
Thank you notes
HealthTap member
Mar 30, 2015
Dr. Canale is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Mar 31, 2015
Dr. Canale is an amazing doctor! #nationaldoctorsday2015 #virtualflower1
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer was very helpful! Dear sir. I am 50 year old and my period came on march 11 but it didnt came April I have safe sex is it normal
HealthTap member
Now a lump has appear in january and and my tissue is rugged nd my doctor is going to o a lumpectomy could it be cancer?
HealthTap member
Thank you, your answer was very helpful! My results came back as no mutation for brca 1/2.tested 3 yrs ago
Education & Training
Medical/Graduate school
Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans, LA
Graduated 1991MD
Residency
MAINE MEDICAL CENTER
Residency
OCHSNER FOUNDATION HOSPITAL
Awards
Distinguished Achievement Award - "APBI and commitment to the best in patient care"
Most Influential, Third Place, Raleigh Region, NC - Summer
2013
Top Breast Surgeon, First Place, North Carolina - Summer
2013
Affiliations
American Society of Breast Surgeons
American Society of Breast Disease
American College of Surgeons
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