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Breast cancer · Help and support

Help with understanding your breast cancer appointment

Your breast team and breast care nurse can explain your results, the choices available and the next steps. Bring questions and ask them to show you what they mean.

Open the explorer Read the guide

If you feel unwell during or after treatment, use the 24-hour number your hospital team gave you. Otherwise call NHS 111. In an emergency, call 999.

Questions to ask your team

  1. Can you show me where the tumour is, and how big it is?
  2. What type of breast cancer is it, and what do the test results mean for me?
  3. Have the lymph nodes in my armpit been checked, and what did they show?
  4. What are my treatment choices, including the order of surgery, drugs and radiotherapy?
  5. Could I have a wide local excision, or would you suggest a mastectomy? Why?
  6. Is breast reconstruction possible, and when could it be done?
  7. How will treatment affect my arm, my shape and how I feel about my body?
  8. Who do I call if I’m worried, and what number do I use out of hours?

Someone to talk to

Words you may hear

Clock position
Where something is in the breast, as if it were a clock face seen by someone facing you.
Wide local excision (lumpectomy)
An operation to remove the tumour with a rim of healthy tissue, keeping the rest of the breast.
Mastectomy
An operation to remove the whole breast.
Sentinel lymph node biopsy
Removing the first one to three lymph nodes in the armpit to check them for cancer.
Axillary node clearance
Removing most of the lymph nodes in the armpit.
Margin
The healthy tissue around the tumour when it is removed. A clear margin means no cancer cells at the edge.
Receptors (ER, PR, HER2)
Tests on the cancer cells that help the team choose drug treatments.
Breast care nurse
A specialist nurse who supports you through diagnosis and treatment.

Trusted information

The explorer is a simplified illustration for a conversation with your team. It cannot interpret your report, diagnose cancer, stage it or tell you which treatment is right.