Breast Cancer: Diagnosis
This overview explains our diagnosis process to help you understand what to expect as you go through the early steps of your care.
Because breast cancer is a diverse group of diseases, an accurate diagnosis is critical for your treatment plan. It helps us recommend the most effective treatment options for you, in the right sequence.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT BREAST CANCER DIAGNOSIS
1Getting Started In Your Care
2Getting Your Diagnosis
Consultation & Testing: What to Expect »
3Planning Your Treatment
4Undergoing Treatment & Follow-Up
Select your type of treatment below.
For everyone who comes to us, we start your care by establishing or confirming a diagnosis.
FIRST Visit
TEST RESULTS
complex Cases
Before your first appointment, we collect your previous test reports and other medical records. We may need your help to do so, in case you need to sign a release form with your doctor.
- Our goal is to review them before we meet with you so that we understand your unique case. Knowing the details of any previous diagnoses and treatments helps us provide the best possible care for you.
- When you schedule your first appointment, our patient coordinators will contact your primary care physician and any other doctors to gather all of your records. If we cannot obtain them in time, we may need to reschedule your appointment.
- Some types of medical records that you should keep include:
- Your full medical history
- Your family history
- Imaging test results, either on paper or stored on a DVD
- Pathology reports from any biopsies or surgeries
- Operative reports from any surgeries
- Treatment summary for radiation therapy, if you had it
- List of medications, doses, and how long you took them for systemic therapy such as chemotherapy or targeted therapy
- Allergies to medications
- Discharge summary if you had a hospital stay
- Contact information for health care providers who treated you for cancer
Our team meets with you for a thorough diagnostic evaluation. We gather more information during your first appointment but may still need additional tests to confirm or rule out a diagnosis.
If needed, you may undergo further imaging tests, blood work, or a biopsy.
After this testing, it typically takes a few days to 2 weeks to review the results and confirm your diagnosis. Getting your test results can take time because your care team is working hard to determine an accurate diagnosis for you.
Many health care professionals collaborate in the process and provide expert analysis, including your oncologist (cancer doctor), radiologist, and pathologist. Years of experience studying breast cancer every day means your pathologist can accurately identify critical details, such as whether the cancer:
i. Is invasive or noninvasive
ii. Is aggressive or slow growing
iii. The subtype of your breast cancer
Your care team will also determine the stage of breast cancer. Staging describes the size of the cancer and whether (and how far) it has spread. Staging is the most important step in planning your treatment.
Stanford breast cancer experts from several specialties meet as a team in weekly tumor boards to review certain complex patients. Based on the diagnosis, we determine our recommendations for the type and sequence of treatment.
Treatment recommendations
The oncologist (either medical, surgical, or radiation) who will begin your first treatment meets with you to discuss the recommended treatment plan. Together, you and your doctor decide on the treatment options that are right for you.
Before your first appointment, we collect your previous test reports and other medical records. We may need your help to do so, in case you need to sign a release form with your doctor.
- Our goal is to review them before we meet with you so that we understand your unique case. Knowing the details of any previous diagnoses and treatments helps us provide the best possible care for you.
- When you schedule your first appointment, our patient coordinators will contact your primary care physician and any other doctors to gather all of your records. If we cannot obtain them in time, we may need to reschedule your appointment.
- Some types of medical records that you should keep include:
- Your full medical history
- Your family history
- Imaging test results, either on paper or stored on a DVD
- Pathology reports from any biopsies or surgeries
- Operative reports from any surgeries
- Treatment summary for radiation therapy, if you had it
- List of medications, doses, and how long you took them for systemic therapy such as chemotherapy or targeted therapy
- Allergies to medications
- Discharge summary if you had a hospital stay
- Contact information for health care providers who treated you for cancer
Our team meets with you for a thorough diagnostic evaluation. We gather more information during your first appointment but may still need additional tests to confirm or rule out a diagnosis.
If needed, you may undergo further imaging tests, blood work, or a biopsy.
close FIRST Visit
After this testing, it typically takes a few days to 2 weeks to review the results and confirm your diagnosis. Getting your test results can take time because your care team is working hard to determine an accurate diagnosis for you.
Many health care professionals collaborate in the process and provide expert analysis, including your oncologist (cancer doctor), radiologist, and pathologist. Years of experience studying breast cancer every day means your pathologist can accurately identify critical details, such as whether the cancer:
i. Is invasive or noninvasive
ii. Is aggressive or slow growing
iii. The subtype of your breast cancer
Your care team will also determine the stage of breast cancer. Staging describes the size of the cancer and whether (and how far) it has spread. Staging is the most important step in planning your treatment.
close TEST RESULTS
Stanford breast cancer experts from several specialties meet as a team in weekly tumor boards to review certain complex patients. Based on the diagnosis, we determine our recommendations for the type and sequence of treatment.
Treatment recommendations
The oncologist (either medical, surgical, or radiation) who will begin your first treatment meets with you to discuss the recommended treatment plan. Together, you and your doctor decide on the treatment options that are right for you.
close complex Cases
At Stanford, we tailor the diagnostic phase of Breast cancer care to each patient. If you need further testing to complete your diagnosis, your doctor and care team will work with you to determine which tests you need. Tests may include:
- Breast Cancer Imaging Tests (Radiology)
To obtain the most precise understanding of your cancer, your doctor may schedule you for different types of imaging that help to diagnose. If you have been screened elsewhere and received abnormal results, we may perform additional imaging, if needed. - Breast Cancer Biopsy (Pathology)
If your imaging or other screening tests show that you may have breast cancer, you will need a biopsy. A biopsy takes a sample of cells from abnormal tissues to establish a diagnosis. - Genetic Testing for Breast and Ovarian Cancer
Genetic testing is a medical test that identifies changes in genes, chromosomes, or proteins. For breast cancer, genetic testing can show whether you have inherited mutations in genes related to the disease and whether you are at risk for other types of cancer. - Breast Cancer Lab Tests (Blood Draws)
Before and during treatment, your doctor will ask you to have your blood drawn and tested at a lab. Blood tests can provide a variety of information, helping to establish your diagnosis, plan your course of breast cancer treatment, and monitor your progress during and after treatment.
Cancer Care Services
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Learn More About Breast Cancer
What We Offer
Our providers use leading edge techniques to diagnose and treat breast cancer.
About this Condition
Learn about the symptoms, risk factors, types, diagnosis, stages and prevention of breast cancer.
Patient Care Resources
Learn what to expect as you go through the early steps of your care.