Breast Cancer Newly Diagnosed

First Advice For Breast Cancer Patients

Medically Reviewed On: March 27, 2003

By Erica Heilman

The prognosis for women with breast cancer is good. Treatment options have multiplied in recent years; newer treatments are more effective and less invasive in their effect; and most women diagnosed this year will survive their breast cancer.

But none of this helps to alleviate the initial shock and disorientation that comes with a cancer diagnosis. Nearly a quarter million women will be diagnosed this year with breast cancer, and many will find themselves in a complex world filled with unfamiliar medical terminology, technology and treatment choices. Getting oriented in that world is the critical first step toward treatment and recovery.

Below, breast cancer experts from around the country offer a newly diagnosed patient some first words of advice.

Get informed. Explore all available information resources.
First I would tell her, all is not lost. Life has not ended today at the time of the diagnosis. Most women today who get breast cancer survive it. I would try to reassure her that with proper treatment and good care, there is much to be hopeful about.

I would urge her to get informed. The better informed you are, the more you can do for yourself. You can actually help your health care providers by being informed. So I would urge that patient to get informed and get familiar with a whole variety of information sources.

There are wonderful sources of information, for instance, on the World Wide Web. There is a wonderful array of sites where you can get information in plain English that's very understandable, and that's not fringe information. The National Cancer Institute's Web site is a great source. NABCO, or the National Association of Breast Care Organizations, also is a wonderful source of information. Ask your doctor which sources of information he or she would recommend. Then use that information to develop questions that you may want to ask your doctor or whoever is providing your care.

Hyman Muss, MD; Associate Director for Cancer Research, Vermont Cancer Center

 

Talk with other women who have breast cancer, and use family as a support.
I believe that one of the first steps she should take is to talk with other women who have breast cancer. What did they do? What treatment worked for them? How did it feel? How did they manage? She can then go back and discuss what she's learned with her family.

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