• Breast changes
• • Breast care team
  • The assessment clinic
• Benign breast condition diagnosis
• Breast cancer diagnosis

Anyone who consults their GP about an unusual change may be referred to a specialist. It is recommended that investigations and treatment for breast cancer are carried out by a hospital with a breast unit and a specialist breast care team.

Your GP will refer you to a breast clinic to see a specialist consultant, although your first point of contact may be with another member of the breast team. A specialist breast surgeon will discuss your symptoms with you and arrange for a Triple Assessment to be carried out (see What will happen at the assessment clinic?).

A radiographer (a trained technician) will take am image of your breast tissue by mammogram (an x-ray) or ultrasound scan. Some women may have both types of imaging.

The type of imaging used will depend on your age. In younger women the breast tissue is quite dense making it harder to detect changes, so an ultrasound scan may be carried out instead.

You may also meet a radiologist, a doctor who specialises in the interpretation of x-rays and ultrasound scans.

If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer your surgeon may also refer you on to an oncologist. Oncologists are highly trained specialists in the treatment of cancer.

A clinical oncologist is a doctor who specialises in treatment using radiotherapy, and a medical oncologist specialises in treatment using drugs (chemotherapy). You may be required to see both, depending on your treatment.

Breast care nurses are specially trained nurses based in breast units or clinics, who will listen to you and talk through your concerns. They may also be able to explain more clearly some of the information you have received from your surgeon or oncologist, and perhaps even put you in touch with women who have received the kind of treatment you are considering.

Breast units and some hospitals or clinics also have trained counsellors. If you are diagnosed with breast cancer you can be referred to a counsellor so you can discuss your feelings and concerns.

If you have a mastectomy and opt for reconstruction, you may meet a plastic surgeon who specialises in this form of breast surgery. Alternatively, many breast surgeons are also highly skilled in reconstruction and can perform the operation.

All the members of your breast care team aim to work together as a team to provide the best possible care and treatment for you throughout the process of diagnosis and treatment.

           

• Breast changes
• • Breast care team
  • The assessment clinic
• Benign breast condition diagnosis
• Breast cancer diagnosis

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