It is important to ask questions. The more information you have, the better you and your family will be able to make informed decisions about your treatment options and your overall health. Below is a list of questions you may want to ask your doctor or other members of your health care team. The list is organized by topics that you may find helpful.
Questions about diagnosis
- What stage is my breast cancer?
- Am I node-negative or node-positive?
- How does my nodal status affect my risk for recurrence?
- Is this a new cancer or a recurrence?
- If this is a recurrence of my previous breast cancer, do I have local, regional, or distant recurrence? What does this mean for my treatment and outlook?
- What does this mean for my treatment and outlook?
- What treatment choices are appropriate for my stage of cancer?
- Are there any other important medical issues I should know about that could affect my breast cancer treatment?
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Questions about tumor testing
- What kind of tests will be done on my tumor?
- How will the test results affect my treatment options?
- Is my breast cancer hormone receptor-positive (estrogen and/or progesterone receptor-positive)? Will this affect my treatment options?
- Is my breast cancer HER2/neu-positive? Will this affect my treatment options?
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Questions about surgery
- What type of surgery do you recommend and why?
- Are there other surgical options for me?
- Can breast reconstruction be performed at the time of surgery or later?
- What can I expect with surgery?
- Where will my surgery be done?
- If it is done in the hospital, how long will I be there?
- How long will it take to recover?
- What type of help or care will I need at home?
- What are the side effects I can expect with surgery?
- What do you recommend for managing the side effects?
- After my surgery, what kind of follow-up care will I receive?
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Questions about radiation therapy
- Do you recommend radiation therapy and why?
- How many radiation treatments will I receive?
- How long will treatment take?
- How will the radiation be given?
- What are the side effects I can expect with radiation therapy?
- What do you recommend for managing the side effects?
- After I finish radiation, what kind of follow-up care will I receive?
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Questions about chemotherapy
- Do you recommend chemotherapy and why?
- What type of chemotherapy do you recommend and why?
- Are there any other chemotherapy options that may be right for me?
- How will the chemotherapy be given?
- How many chemotherapy treatments will I receive?
- How long will treatment take?
- What are the side effects of chemotherapy? How long will they last?
- What do you recommend for managing the side effects?
- After I finish chemotherapy, what kind of follow-up care will I receive?
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Questions about hormonal treatment
- Do you recommend hormonal treatment and why?
- What kind of hormonal treatment is best for me and why?
- Are there other hormonal treatment options that may be right for me?
- When will I start the hormonal treatment and how long will I need to take the hormonal treatment?
- How is hormonal treatment given?
- What are the side effects of hormonal treatment? How long will they last?
- What do you recommend for managing the side effects?
- Will I need follow-up care after hormonal treatment? For how long?
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It is important to ask questions. The more information you have, the better you and your family will be able to make informed decisions about your treatment options and your overall health. Below is a list of questions you may want to ask your doctor or other members of your health care team. The list is organized by topics that you may find helpful.
