Your Doctors in your Treatment of Breast Cancer

Your health care team will include specialists. There are many ways to find doctors who treat breast cancer:

• Your doctor may be able to refer you to specialists.
• You can ask a local or state medical society, or a nearby hospital or medical school for names of specialists.
• NCI's Cancer Information Service can give you information about treatment centers near you. Call 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237). Or, chat using LiveHelp, NCI's instant messaging service.
• Other sources can be found in the NCI fact sheet How To Find a Doctor or Treatment Facility If You Have Cancer.

Your health care team may include the following specialists:

• Surgeon: This type of doctor can perform surgery. You may want to find a breast cancer surgeon.
• Medical oncologist: A medical oncologist is a doctor who specializes in treating cancer with drugs, such as chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and targeted therapy.
• Radiation oncologist: A radiation oncologist is a doctor who specializes in treating cancer with radiation therapy.

Your health care team may also include a plastic surgeon or reconstructive surgeon, an oncology nurse, a physical therapist, a social worker, and a registered dietitian.
Your health care team can describe your treatment choices, the expected results of each treatment, and the possible side effects. Because cancer treatments often damage healthy cells and tissues, side effects are common. These side effects depend on many factors, including the type of treatment. Side effects may not be the same for each woman, and they may even change from one treatment session to the next.
Before treatment starts, ask your health care team about possible side effects and how treatment may change your normal activities.
You and your health care team can work together to develop a treatment plan that meets your medical and personal needs.
You may want to talk with your health care team about taking part in a research study (clinical trial) of new treatment methods. Research studies are an important option for women at any stage of breast cancer.