Breast cancer - Questions to ask

If you've been diagnosed with breast cancer, you may want to talk to your doctor to find out more.

Here are some questions you might want to ask.

Has my breast cancer spread outside my breast? What stage is it?
How big is my tumour?
Can I have surgery that removes only the lump (breast-conserving surgery) and not the whole breast (mastectomy)?
Did my breast cancer happen because of genes I have inherited?
What will you do to find out if my breast cancer has spread to the lymph nodes in my armpit?
What treatment will I need after surgery?
What side effects can I expect from surgery and other treatments?
Is my breast cancer encouraged to grow by the hormone oestrogen? Is it oestrogen-receptor positive?
Do I have HER-2 positive breast cancer (this means the cancer cells make too much of a protein called HER-2)?
Will my surgery be done by a specialist breast surgeon who does more than 20 breast operations a year? (This can be a difficult question to ask, but the risk of your cancer coming back where it first started depends on whether your surgeon removes enough of the tissue around your cancer along with the cancer itself. Studies show that experienced surgeons are better at doing this.)
Do any of my lymph nodes have cancer cells in them? If so, how many?
How abnormal do the cancer cells look under a microscope? (This can tell you how likely it is that your tumour will spread and what kind of treatment you need.)
Will I need chemotherapy after surgery? If so, what type and for how long?
Will I need hormone therapy? If so, what type will I need and how long will I need to take it?
If I have a mastectomy, should I have breast-reconstruction surgery? If so, when should it be done and what sort of surgeon should do it?
Are the other women in my family more likely to get breast cancer? Should they have check-ups more often?

Glossary

lymph nodes: Lymph nodes (also called lymph glands) are small, bean-shaped lumps that you can't usually see or feel easily. You have them in various parts of your body, such as your neck, armpit and groin. Lymph nodes filter lymph and remove unwanted things from your body, such as bacteria and cancer cells.
genes: Your genes are the parts of your cells that contain instructions for how your body works. Genes are found on chromosomes, structures that sit in the nucleus at the middle of each of your cells. You have 23 pairs of chromosomes in your normal cells, each of which has thousands of genes. You get one set of chromosomes, and all of the genes that are on them, from each of your parents.
oestrogen-receptor positive: Oestrogen-receptor positive tumours are cancers that are encouraged to grow by the presence of the hormone oestrogen.

This information does not replace medical advice. If you are concerned you might have a medical problem please ask your Boots pharmacy team in your local Boots store, or see your doctor.