[3][4] After a biopsy determined that her tumor was cancerous, she resisted the then-standard radical mastectomy procedure, in which muscle tissue and lymph nodes were removed along with the breast.
In order to have a less invasive procedure, she traveled from her Kensington, Maryland home to Buffalo, New York, where she had found a doctor (Dr. Thomas Dao) who was willing to do a modified radical mastectomy.
She was outspoken in her criticism of Betty Ford's September 1974 treatment for breast cancer, using personal connections in Washington, DC, in an unsuccessful effort to convince the First Lady not to undergo a one-step biopsy and radical mastectomy.
In her critique of prevalent medical practices she used rhetoric familiar to the 1970s feminist movement, with statements such as "No man is going to make another impotent while he's asleep without his permission, but there's no hesitation if it's a woman's breast.
[2][5] The center's establishment was motivated in part by Kushner's desire to promote patient self-help and mutual support, thus displacing the medical profession and the American Cancer Society from their roles as information "gatekeepers".
She attended numerous meetings of medical professionals, interrupting presentations, questioning conclusions, and speaking against the prevalent practices of one-step breast cancer surgery and radical mastectomy.
[3] In spite of her unpopularity with the mainstream medical profession, Kushner's work was well received in the public and won increasing respect in official circles.
In June 1977, she was the only lay member appointed to a ten-member National Institutes of Health (NIH) panel that evaluated treatment options for primary breast cancer.
[1][4][5] Additionally, Kushner convinced her fellow panel members to include a statement calling for an end to the one-step surgical procedure.
[1] In 1990 she was the posthumous recipient of the James Ewing Award of the Society of Surgical Oncology, recognizing outstanding contributions by a lay person to the fight against cancer.