Questions to Ask the Doctor

Regular communication with your doctor is important in making informed decisions about your health care. Consider asking the following questions of your doctor:

• What type of breast cancer do I have?
  
  
• What is the stage of my cancer?
  
  
• Can you explain my pathology report (laboratory test results) to me?
  
  
• What are my options for treatment?
  
  
• What clinical trials are open to me?
  
  
• What treatment option do you recommend? Why?
  
  
• What are the possible side effects of this treatment, both in the short term and the long term?
  
  
• How will this treatment affect my daily life? Will I be able to work, exercise, and perform my usual activities?
  
  
• Could this treatment affect my fertility (ability to have children in the future)? If so, are there other treatments available that do not pose as high a risk to my fertility but are equally effective?
  
  
• What are the chances that the cancer be successfully treated?
  
  
• How can I keep myself as healthy as possible during treatment?
  
  
• Now that you have examined me, am I a good candidate for reconstruction?
  
  
• What types of breast reconstruction options do I have?
  
  
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of each type?
  
  
• What are the chances the cancer will come back after treatment?
  
  
• Whom do I call for questions or problems?
  
  
• What follow-up tests will I need, and how often will I need them?
  
  
• What support services are available to me? To my family?

For additional questions, see the Cancer.Net Guide to Breast Cancer section.