Find an MSK Doctor or Cancer Specialist
Memorial Sloan Kettering breast surgical oncologist Laurie Kirstein

Laurie J. Kirstein, MD, FACS

Breast Surgeon

My Role at MSK

Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Breast cancers and conditions
View all
Dr. Kirstein's Office Information
Languages: English
Request an Appointment
Our Care Advisors can answer many of your questions. They will connect you with the best healthcare provider for your needs.
Back to top
English
Share

About Me

What I Do at MSK
  • Associate Attending Surgeon
Get To Know Me

I am a board-certified surgical oncologist whose clinical practice and research endeavors are devoted to caring for people with breast cancer. I specialize in both early- and late-stage procedures, working closely with a multidisciplinary team every step of the way to make certain my patients receive appropriate treatment recommendations. I have been doing this work for 15 years.

I see patients at MSK Monmouth in Middletown, New Jersey, and operate there as well as at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in Manhattan.

Read more

I perform approximately 350 to 400 procedures each year. I have expertise in oncoplastic procedures to ensure positive cosmetic outcomes and have done research on how best to accomplish this. Regardless of disease stage and treatment plan, I stay involved in my patients’ care throughout treatment — up to and after the time of surgery.

As a physician, it is my job to educate patients about their diagnosis and to help them understand treatment options and recommendations. To that end, I have an exploratory/developmental grant (R21) from the National Institutes of Health to create a resource to educate patients about their surgical options, provide medical facts, debunk myths, and offer coping strategies. By arming them with this information, I hope to help remove some of the fear of the unknown.

I understand the psychological impact a breast cancer diagnosis can bring. It affects not only the patient but also everyone around that individual. When treating a patient, I take into consideration treatment recommendations from an oncologic perspective. But more than that, I view the whole person to understand the emotional impact of this disease.

I truly believe it is a privilege to do what I do, and an honor to be a part of my patients’ lives.

My passion for educating and advocating for people with cancer extends beyond my work at MSK. In addition to serving as the Education Liaison for the American College of Surgeons’ Cancer Programs, I am an active member of the Executive Committee for the Commission on Cancer (CoC). CoC is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for people with cancer by setting standards to promote cancer prevention, research, education, and monitoring of comprehensive quality care. As Chair of the Education Committee, I am involved in national quality-improvement projects focused on helping hospitals across the country get people back to their cancer screenings post-COVID-19, and improving outreach and education around smoking cessation among people with cancer. I am also on a committee working to improve equity in cancer treatment using CoC standards.

My Role at MSK

A breast surgeon is a doctor with special training in surgery on breasts.

Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Breast cancers and conditions
Education & Honors

Education

  • MD, SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn

Residencies

  • General Surgery - Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Awards and Honors

  • Pillar of Excellence Award, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey (2013)

Fellowships

  • Breast Surgical Oncology - Massachusetts General Hospital/Brigham and Women's Hospital

Board Certifications

  • Surgery

Insurance Information

Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.

Aetna

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS, Transplant

Aetna Medicare Advantage (MTA and NYC retirees only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Anthem BCBS and other BCBS licensee plans

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

See updates

Anthem BCBS Health Plus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Anthem Blue Cross Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO, DSN

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield states outside of NY/NJ

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS

See updates

Carrum Health

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

Cigna

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Connecticare

In Network Coverage Type
POS, EPO, HMO

Emblem

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Emblem to learn more.

Emblem Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Emblem Medicare Advantage (Medicare Choice PPO Network and VIP Prime Network Only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Empire Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Empire Plan / NYSHIP (Blue Cross/UnitedHealthcare split plan)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Fidelis

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Fidelis to learn more.

Fidelis Managed Medicaid & HARP

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Fidelis Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

First Health

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Healthfirst

In Network Coverage Type
EPO, HMO, PPO, POS

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Healthfirst to learn more.

Healthfirst Managed Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Healthfirst Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

Healthsmart

In Network Coverage Type
PPO EPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (HMO)

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (PPO)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier I (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier II (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Husky CT Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Magnacare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO

Straight NJ Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Straight NY Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Medicare Part A&B (traditional Medicare)

In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government

Multiplan/Beech Street/PHCS

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

MVP

In Network Coverage Type
PPO/OAP

Non-Participating Plans with Out of Network Benefits

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

NYC Medicare Advantage Plus for City Employees

In Network Coverage Type
TBD

Oscar

In Network Coverage Type
HMO/EPO

Oxford

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, EPO

World Trade Center Health Program (WTC)

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Qualcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Tricare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

UMR

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS

United Healthcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

Make an Appointment

Women talking
New Patients
Scheduling an appointment is easy. Click or call 646-497-9064— we’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Make an Appointment
Current Patients
Request an appointment by logging on to MyMSK or calling your doctor’s office. If you aren’t registered for MyMSK, call 646-227-2593 for your Enrollment ID.

Contact and Location

Dr. Kirstein sees patients at one location.

Office Phone
Location
Middletown, NJ
Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth
480 Red Hill Road Middletown NJ 07748
Get Directions

Looking to see a doctor at a different location? See all MSK locations.

Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

See all Breast Service doctors

Clinical Trials

Smiling doctors in the lab
Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

Search clinical trials

Research and Publications

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Kirstein’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

See all on PubMed

Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Laurie J. Kirstein discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

No disclosures meeting criteria for time period


If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].


View all disclosures

Related topics: