If you are diagnosed with breast cancer, your team of specialists will want to know as much about your case as possible. They will want to see if it has spread, for example, and to decide how best to treat you. To do this, they will carry out some further tests and monitoring activity.
Photographs
It’s quite common to have photographs of your breasts taken at your first consultation to record their appearance.
Blood samples
Doctors may want to carry out a blood test to check your general health and see that organs such as the liver and kidneys are ok.
Chest x-ray
A chest x-ray may also be carried out to check your general health.
Bone scan
If your bones are painful or your blood test shows abnormal results, you can have a bone scan to see if the cancer has spread to your bones.
Ultrasound and CT – computerised tomography - scan
You may be scanned to give doctors a picture of various relevant organs such as your liver.
MRI – magnetic resonance imaging - scan
You may also be offered an MRI scan. This will give doctors view of blood flow, helping them discover the shape and size of the tumour.
Occasionally, your cancer team may request other tests. If so, ask them to explain to you what’s involved and why they think it’s necessary.
