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Breast Cancer: Choosing Your Doctors
Since few cancers require emergency treatment, take time to learn a lot about the diagnosis, as well as the doctors and hospitals most expert at treating your cancer.
How to Find a Cancer Specialist
Your own primary-care doctor is probably the first source to ask for a referral to cancer specialists. Your doctor will know from experience who is the most appropriate cancer specialist in your area. Also, you can search online for reliable web sites of hospitals, medical organizations like the American College of Surgeons or American Society of Clinical Oncology, universities, medical schools, or the federal government. These are all acceptable ways to find cancer specialists and learn more about the disease.
Researching Credentials
Once you have a few names, take note of:
- Where the doctor was trained.
- Any fellowships completed in cancer care (surgery, radiation therapy, medical oncology).
- Which hospitals the doctor is affiliated with?
- If the doctor is board-certified in the area of specialization.
- How many procedures or cases has the doctor been involved with?
- Any areas of special interest or research.
Hospitals offer free and confidential telephone or online physician referral services that offer information about a doctor's professional background. Insurance companies can provide names of cancer specialists or referral requirements.
Meeting Your Cancer Team
Cancer is a disease best treated by a team of experts trained in different fields. Depending on the course of treatment, a breast cancer patient will likely meet several members of the cancer team.
- Surgery may be performed by a general surgeon or a surgical oncologist, who is a surgeon who specializes in treating cancer.
- A medical oncologist oversees the course of cancer treatment for most patients and also manages any chemotherapy patients might receive.
- A radiation oncologist is a doctor who will develop a treatment plan for radiation therapy if it is required.
Depending on the size of the hospital or institution, the team can also include plastic surgeons, pathologists, radiologists, medical specialists in obstetrics/gynecology and other areas, oncology nurses, pharmacists, quality control experts, social workers, dietitians and more.
Questions to Ask the Cancer Specialist
By preparing ahead of your appointment, you can better understand your treatment and become actively involved in your care Print out these questions to ask each specialist.
Choosing a Hospital
When deciding on a cancer treatment facility, you should first learn:
- Whether the hospital has experience in treating your condition.
- How the hospital was rated by outside organizations (American College of Surgeons, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations).
- If the hospital is conveniently located.
- If your insurance covers care at this hospital.
- If the hospital offers educational and social programs for cancer patients.
- If the hospital is involved with cancer research and offers clinical trials.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and a new study reveals why a high number of women with the disease still prefer to have the entire breast surgically removed instead of just the tumor. It's not always because doctors recommend it.
