Fellowship-Trained Breast Surgeon Joins Beaufort Memorial

To advance the treatment of breast cancer for area residents, Beaufort Memorial is adding a board-certified, fellowship-trained breast surgical oncologist to its medical staff. Tara L. Grahovac, M.D., will join the new Breast Care & Surgery Program this month. She will see patients in the hospital’s Breast Health Center in Okatie and perform surgeries at Beaufort Memorial Hospital.

As a breast surgical oncologist—commonly known as a breast surgeon—Dr. Grahovac specializes in the diagnosis, staging and removal of cancerous growths in the breast. Thanks to an affiliation between Beaufort Memorial and MUSC Health in Charleston, Dr. Grahovac, an MUSC Health doctor, will practice exclusively at BMH.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Grahovac to our medical staff,” said Russell Baxley, president and chief executive officer at Beaufort Memorial. “Her expertise and compassion coupled with her sole focus on the surgical treatment of breast disease will greatly enhance the care we can offer local women.”

Brought up in the Pittsburgh suburbs, Dr. Grahovac earned a medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, then completed a residency in general surgery at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. She completed a fellowship in breast surgical oncology at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Magee-Womens Hospital.

Since 2015, she has served as the first specialty-trained breast surgeon within St. Clair Health, an independent tertiary care center in Pittsburgh’s South Hills community. There she helped to expand oncology services while providing the direct patient care that is her passion.

New Breast Care & Surgery Program

The Beaufort Memorial Breast Care & Surgery Program offers expert, comprehensive breast care for a full range of diseases, from benign breast conditions to breast cancer. Dr. Grahovac works with a team of clinicians– among them radiation and medical oncologists, breast nurse navigators and social workers– to address the physical and emotional aspects of breast disease and to ensure optimal outcomes for every patient.

The program is one of several cancer care initiatives between Beaufort Memorial and MUSC Health. Through the affiliation, patients at Beaufort Memorial also have access to promising clinical trials and subspecialists experienced in treating rare or complex cancers. Located in Beaufort Memorial’s nationally accredited Breast Health Center in Okatie, the program provides a full complement of screening and diagnostic services, as well as genetics testing and high risk assessment for early identification and surveillance of genetic cancers.

“As the need for more specialized care grows, it only makes sense for us to enter into arrangements to bring the best medical providers closer to home for our patients,” said Baxley. "Not only are we bringing more providers to the market, we are also enabling patients to see MUSC specialists without having to travel to Charleston.”

The Beaufort Memorial Breast Care & Surgery Program is located in the Okatie Medical Pavilion at 122 Okatie Center Blvd. North (Suite 150).