MARLA ANDERSON, MD & THE BREAST CANCER CENTER STEERING COMMITTEE
Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Medical Center

Dr. Anderson has worked diligently over the years to greatly expand the breast care program and provide KP-San Rafael patients with outstanding service. It has been due to Dr. Anderson's professionalism, persistence, compassion and vision that the Breast Center has for several years offered patients a same-day evaluation service of any suspicious breast finding which includes imaging, surgical appointment and biopsy if needed, greatly lessening patient anxiety and significantly improving quality of care and patient satisfaction. Under her leadership, a multi-disciplinary group of clinicians, members of the Breast Center Steering Committee, applied and were recently awarded full accreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, demonstrating that the Center meets or exceeds 27 strict national standards (including center leadership, clinical management, research, community outreach, professional education, and quality improvement). Dr. Anderson and her team have implemented a unique multidisciplinary approach to the process of diagnoses and treatment of breast diseases and have expanded professional and patient education to include information about clinical trials and new treatment options.

Dr. Anderson is a board-certified surgeon. She received a BS in Biochemistry at UC Davis, attended Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and was a General Surgery Resident at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University. She provides care for most general surgery problems but her special interest is in the treatment and care of patients with breast cancer. “The most rewarding part working with breast cancer patients to me is seeing them come out the other side and being okay with what they’ve gone through, and really a lot of them are stronger and there’s parts of their personality that come out that they didn’t know about. So, they’re always my inspiration, I’m always very inspired by my patients, very courageous, very brave.”