Asking Questions

Here are a few questions you can ask your doctor on your next visit.  It’s easy to forget the questions you have thought of before your visit, so it may help to print this page.  Write down some of your own questions too.  Make sure you take notes on your doctor’s answers, because it’s a lot of new information to absorb.  It usually helps to bring someone along to your doctor’s office – a spouse, relative, or friend – who can help you ask questions and keep track of the answers.

1. What kind of breast cancer do I have?  Is it invasive or non-invasive, or mixed?
    
2. What stage is my breast cancer?
    
3. How many lymph nodes, if any, are involved?
    
4. Were the surgical margins clean?
    
5. What grade is my breast cancer?  Is it more or less aggressive?
    
6. What is my hormone receptor status?
    
7. What is my HER2 status? Which test was done and where was the test performed?
    
8. Was there any lymphatic or vascular invasion?
    
9. Am I candidate for Oncotype DX or similar genomic assay testing?
    
10. What treatments are recommended for my type of breast cancer?
     
11. What are the insurance and genomic testing costs?
     
12. What is my prognosis?