Back to Search

DeFusco, Patricia A., MD

Title
Medical Director, Breast Program, Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute

Gender

Female


Language

English

Providing the best care to our patients and their companions requires communicating in a way everyone understands. Interpreter services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. All spoken languages are available, as well as American Sign Language (AS/L).


Specialties
Accepting New Patients
  • Medical Oncology
Not Currently Accepting New Patients
  • Internal Medicine

Areas of Expertise
Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Clinical Trials, Breast Cancer Management, Breast Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Risk Assessment, Breast Cancer Survivorship

Education

Fellowship
Mayo Clinic

Internship
Hartford Hospital

Medical School
Boston University School of Medicine

Residency
Hartford Hospital


Professional Organizations

  • American Society of Clinical Oncology

Reviews

Verified Patient Reviews

5 out of 5 stars

Would highly recommend her. I'm sorry she's retiring. Love her!

5 out of 5 stars

Vast improvement over my initial provider who has left HHC oncology practice

5 out of 5 stars

We need more *Dr. DeFusco's. Cancer is a scary diagnosis to face. She really heped me work thru all the decisions to a successful finish line.

5 out of 5 stars

Dr. DeFusco is great

5 out of 5 stars

*Dr. DeFusco continue to provide outstanding, comprehensive care in a kind manner. She is a reassuring presence, sharing her exceptional depth of knowledge and unparalleled skill. I am relieved and blessed to be in her competent care.

5 out of 5 stars

Dr. Defusco is fantastic, so sad she is retiring.

5 out of 5 stars

*Dr. DeFusco is excellent.

5 out of 5 stars

Very clear and complete explanations of what to expect and options

5 out of 5 stars

Great team of doctors, & staff!

5 out of 5 stars

Extremely knowledgeable and took the time to treat me as a patient, not a number in the system

5 out of 5 stars

I would follow Dr DeFusco anywhere.

5 out of 5 stars

Dr. Defusco is a superior physician who will be a tremendous loss to the HHC system when she retires. She provides care on a plane like few others. Compassionate, caring, knowledgeable. If only more physicians were like her, medical acre in your system would be higher in quality

5 out of 5 stars

Dr Defusco is caring helpful and the best doctor I have ever had.

5 out of 5 stars

Dr. DeFusco is awesome!!!


Other Reviews from Around the Web

5 out of 5 stars

Dr. DeFusco is an excellent physician and her employees are very pleasant, putting the patients at ease upon entry.

5 out of 5 stars

Dr. DeFusco is gift to people dealing with cancer. She has such compassion and knowledge with clear and concise information that is crucial when dealing with this diagnosis. She is a physician who cares, understands and goes above and beyond for her patients. She truly is the best oncologist.

5 out of 5 stars

There is no better Dr than Dr DeFusco!

5 out of 5 stars

Dr DeFusco is very caring and knowledgeable She treats all of a patient's concerns not just breasts.

5 out of 5 stars

Dr. Patricia DeFusco is a wonderful caring Physician. She thoroughly and completely explained all aspects of my illness along with full disclosure of the positive and negatives of my treatment options. I come into each office visit with a list of questions which she answers in everyday language so that I understand my treatment process. Her support staff is also is very supportive and responsive.

5 out of 5 stars

Always a good experience visiting Dr Defusco

5 out of 5 stars

Always a great experience at Dr. DeFusco’s thank you for the wonderful care!

5 out of 5 stars

Dr. DeFusco is amazing! Her kindness, knowledge and thouroughness are just what a breast cancer patient needs. No need to go to Boston when you can get an astounding doctor closer!

5 out of 5 stars

Very thorough & caring.

Bio

My name is Dr. Patricia DeFusco; I have been in clinical practice caring for women with breast cancer for over 30 years. I have always believed that medicine is a profession not a job. The relationship between a physician and a patient is a partnership characterized by trust, compassion, empathy and education. These elements are essential as women (and men) with breast cancer face their diagnosis with the whole range of emotions ranging from terror to acceptance and that initial response needs to be understood, accepted and validated to move on to the specifics of treatments and interventions.

It is the art of medicine for the physician to meet a patient and to try to understand what that particular patient’s experience of her (or his) cancer diagnosis is. Each patient brings their individual personality, their family history, their current social context, their concerns about their partner, their children, about work, school, the future to each visit.

I have been involved in seeing patients with the spectrum of breast issues for many years. Getting to know each patient as an individual is important to me. I always try to integrate details of their life into our visits, trying to truly think about their individual concerns, to find solutions based driven by data, but also on what strategy might work best for that individual at that time.

I have had the privilege of working with hundreds of women (and some men) on their breast cancer journeys. They have taught me about life’s priorities, about joy and fear, about sadness and acceptance, about spirituality and resilience and so very much more.

I am now embarking on my new role as Director of the Breast Program for Hartford HealthCare. My goals are to create a common standard across the hospitals in the Hartford Healthcare system so that no matter where a patient enters the system, she (or he) will be offered the same standard of care. I hope to specifically work on establishing a strong survivor-ship program, implementing our Risk Assessment and Surveillance program and fostering the implementation of new technology. Guiding these efforts will be the additional goal of establishing metrics and evaluating outcomes. I hope to strengthen and grow our existing teams, especially in breast surgery and medical oncology. I hope to integrate the experiences which my patients have so graciously shared with me as we grow current programs and create new programs that can improve the journey for all the patients served by Hartford HealthCare. I truly believe that we can simultaneously provide cutting edge treatment and clinical trials with comfort, consistency, compassion and hope.

Insurance

Aetna, Anthem, BCBS Medicare, CarePartners of Connecticut, Cigna Healthcare, Colonial Cooperative Care, Community Health Network of Connecticut, Inc., Connecticare, Connecticare Commercial, Connecticare Medicare, Corvel, Coventry, Essence Healthcare, Evercare, First Health Group Corp., Focus, Harvard Pilgrim, Health Connecticut, Health Direct, Health New England, Healthy Connecticut, Multiplan, Northeast Health Direct, One Health Plan/ Great-West Healthcare, Oxford Health Plans, Prime Health Services, Private Health Care Systems, Inc., Senior Whole Health, United Healthcare, WellCare of Connecticut, Inc.

This information is subject to change at any time. Please check with your insurance provider before scheduling your appointment or receiving services to confirm they are a participating member of the Hartford HealthCare network.

Loading...