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Preparing for your appointment

By Mayo Clinic staff

If you're seeing a different doctor than the one who treated your first breast cancer, you'll want to make sure the new doctor has access to your medical records from the initial treatment. You'll need to sign an information release form so that your new provider's office can call or write for the records.

Before your appointment:

  • Write down what you want to talk about and questions you have. Be prepared to discuss your new symptoms and any other health problems you've had since your first cancer diagnosis.
  • Make a list of all medications you take, including vitamins and supplements. Include the doses and how often you take the medication, such as once a day or occasionally as needed. If it's easier, bring the medications with you when you have your appointment.

Some questions you might want to ask your doctor are:

  • What is my prognosis?
  • What is the hormone receptor status of the cancer recurrence?
  • What are my treatment options?
  • Are there any clinical trials I should consider participating in?
  • What other tests should I have done and why?

It's a good idea to bring someone you trust with you to your appointment to help take notes and provide emotional support.

Tests and diagnosis Risk factors

  • See Also

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References
  1. Oh S et al. Quality of life of breast cancer survivors after a recurrence: A follow-up study. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2004; 87:45-57.
  2. Hayes DF. Overview of Treatment for Locally Advanced, Recurrent, and Metastatic Breast Cancer. http://uptodateonline.com/index. Accessed Nov. 12, 2008.
  3. American Cancer Society, Living With Uncertainty: The Fear of Cancer Recurrence. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MLT/content/MLT_4_1x_Living_With_Uncertainty_-_The_Fear_of_Cancer_Recurrence.asp. Accessed May 19, 2009.
  4. Punglia RS et al. Local therapy and survival in breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2007; 356:2399-2405.
  5. UpToDate, Hirsch A, Management of Locoregional Recurrence of Breast Cancer after Breast-Conserving Therapy, July 31, 2007, accessed November 12, 2007, http://uptodateonline.com/utd/content/topic.do?topicKey=breastcn/23524&view=print.
  6. UpToDate, Hirsch A, Management of Locoregional Recurrence of Breast Cancer after Mastectomy, May 10, 2007, accessed November 12, 2007, http://uptodateonline.com/utd/content/topic.do?topicKey=breastcn/28927&view=print.
  7. Debled M et al. Prognostic factors of early distant recurrence in hormone receptor-positive, postmenopausal breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant tamoxifen therapy: Results of a retrospective analysis. Cancer. 2007; 109:2197-2204. Accessed May 19, 2009.  http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/114214630/PDFSTART
  8. Geiger AM et al. Recurrences and second primary breast cancers in older women with initial early-stage disease. Cancer. 2007; 109:966-974. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/114082491/PDFSTART Accessed May 19, 2009.
  9. Freedman GM et al. Identifying breast cancer patients most likely to benefit from aromatase inhibitor therapy after adjuvant radiation and tamoxifen. Cancer. 2006; 107:2552-2558.
  10. Hayes DF et al. Follow-up of patients with early breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2007; 356:2505-2513. http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/356/24/2505. Accessed May 19, 2009.
  11. National Breast Cancer Coalition, Gene-Expression Profile Testing, March 2007, accessed October 30, 2007, http://www.stopbreastcancer.org//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=161&Itemid=178.
  12. American Cancer Society, Breast Cancer Recurrence Test Gets FDA Nod, February 7, 2007, accessed May 8, 2008, http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Breast_Cancer_Recurrence_Test_Gets_FDA_Nod.asp.
  13. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA Clears Breast Cancer Specific Molecular Prognostic Test, February 6, 2007, accessed October 5, 2007, http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01555.html.
  14. Buchanan CL, Locoregional Recurrence after Mastectomy: Incidence and Outcomes, Journal of the American College of Surgeons, October 2006, 469-474.
  15. Coombes RC, Survival and Safety of Exemestane versus Tamoxifen after 2-3 Years' Tamoxifen (Intergroup Exemestane Study): A Randomised Controlled Trial, The Lancet, February 17, 2007, 559-570.
  16. Thiebaut ACM, Dietary Fat and Breast Cancer: Contributions From a Survival Trial, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, December 20, 2006, 1753-1755.
  17. Pierce JP, Influence of a Diet Very High in Vegetables, Fruit, and Fiber and Low in Fat on Prognosis Following Treatment for Breast Cancer: The Women's Healthy Eating and Living (WHEL) Randomized Trial, JAMA, July 18, 2007, 289-298.

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May 27, 2009

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