About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffIf you suspect you have Paget's disease of the breast, your initial appointment might be with your family doctor. Or, when you call to set up an appointment, you may be referred directly to a doctor who specializes in treating breast conditions.
What you can do
To prepare for your appointment:
- Take note of all your symptoms, even if they seem unrelated to your breast.
- Make a list of all medications, vitamins and supplements that you regularly take.
- Write down questions to ask your doctor. List your questions from most important to least important in case time runs out.
What to expect from your doctor
Your doctor may ask you questions about:
- The nature of the skin changes on your nipple
- Whether you also experience nipple discharge, bleeding, burning or itching
- If you have any other breast signs and symptoms, such as a breast lump or area of thickening
- If you have any breast pain
- How long you've experienced signs and symptoms
Your doctor may also ask questions about your personal and family medical history and other possible risk factors for breast cancer.
- Sabel MS, et al. Paget disease of the breast. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 4, 2010.
- Paget disease of the nipple: Questions and answers. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Sites-Types/pagets-breast. Accessed Aug. 4, 2010.
- Abeloff MD, et al. Cancer of the breast. In: Abeloff MD, et al. Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/100861143-2/0/1241/895.html?tocnode=51163917&fromURL=895.html#4-u1.0-B0-443-06629-9..50099-3--cesec126_4227. Accessed Aug. 4, 2010.
- Nicholson BT, et al. Nipple-areolar complex: normal anatomy and benign and malignant processes. RadioGraphics. 2009;29:509.
- Estimating breast cancer risk: Questions and answers. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/estimating-breast-cancer-risk. Accessed July 30, 2008.
- What are the risk factors for breast cancer? American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_2X_What_are_the_risk_factors_for_breast_cancer_5.asp?sitearea. Accessed Aug. 5, 2010.
- Morrogh M, et al. MRI identifies otherwise occult disease in select patients with Paget disease of the nipple. Journal of the American College of Surgeons. 2008;206:316.
- Caliskan M, et al. Paget's disease of the breast: The experience of the European institute of oncology and review of the literature. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. http://www.springerlink.com/content/6270v27346461v08/. Accessed Aug. 5, 2010.
- Can breast cancer be prevented? American Cancer Society. http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/BreastCancer/OverviewGuide/breast-cancer-overview-prevention. Accessed Aug. 5, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on