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Breast Self-Exam Checklist |
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Be familiar with normal appearance of your breasts.
Look for swelling, puckering, dimpling, redness, and nipple discharge.
Feel for unusual lumps, soreness, change from normal consistency.
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Medical Evaluation
Evaluation for breast cancer requires a team approach. It is very important that you are able to communicate freely with your physicians. These may include your family physician, internist, gynecologist or the oncologist (cancer doctor). Your primary doctor should know the other specialists, communicate your case to them, and help you understand what they have to offer you.
After a biopsy confirms breast cancer, you will be asked to make some decisions. Both diagnosis and treatment requires the expertise of the general internist or gynecologist, breast surgeon, medical and radiation oncologists. Your doctors will balance a number of factors before recommending a treatment plan. Those factors include the size and location of the tumor, whether the cancer has spread, and your overall health.
Learning about your condition will help you make decisions about your treatment. The information can be overwhelming. At a doctor's visit, you can take notes and bring a relative or friend to help you remember details.
But remember you always have a lot of support. At every step of the way you will be given information on which to base important decisions. Remember too that you will be under the care of very knowledgeable oncology nurses as well as physicians. Everyone is available to answer your questions and to provide support and reassurance.
More on Breast Cancer Understanding Breast Cancer Staging
The Road To Wholeness
Surgery for Breast Cancer: Lumpectomy or Mastectomy?
In the Encyclopedia: Breast reconstruction
Breast self-examination
Breast ultrasound
Breast cancer
Lumpectomy
This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
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