Breast Cancer Tip 2: How to Find a Good Breast Surgeon

 Excerpt from BUSTING LOOSE: BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS TELL YOU WHAT YOUR DOCTOR WON'T
Just because your doctor has a name for your condition doesn’t mean he or she knows what it is. -Unknown

Whatever we do, we shouldn’t ignore worrisome signals of possible breast cancer, because we can’t find a good doctor. They’re out there; they just have to be located.

Many women panic when they notice a new breast lump or other troubling symptom because they have no idea where to find a breast surgeon. Don’t worry; no breast surgeon is needed—not at this point. In fact, don’t even try to find a breast surgeon. Instead, make an immediate appointment with a gynecologist. Failing that, go see your family physician. Report your symptoms to your family doctor’s office and insist on getting an appointment within a day or so, because no one wants to live with the anxiety.

A gynecologist or family physician can provide advice on whether further evaluation is needed. Cancerous breast lumps are often (not always) quite distinctive. Trained practitioners can usually tell with their fingers whether the patient needs a follow-up emergency appointment with a breast surgeon. If so, ask them to call and make that emergency appointment for you, before you leave their office.

Breast surgeons give first priority to requests from other specialists and physicians, so another doctor will be able to get an appointment with even the busiest surgeon within a few days. And don’t be surprised if the doctor you are referred to is not a “breast surgeon,” but a general surgeon. There is actually no board certification for “breast surgery.” Instead, all surgeons performing breast surgery are board certified in general surgery. Usually these surgeons refer to themselves as “breast surgeons,” but some, equally qualified, refer to themselves as general surgeons, with a special emphasis in breast surgery, both benign and cancerous.

It seems shocking, but physicians these days tend to be brutally frank about breast cancer. It is typical for doctors to tell a women immediately if they suspect she has cancer. In part doctors do this because full disclosure is the best way to avoid malpractice lawsuits. But doctors have also found that many women will not seek further evaluation otherwise.

When a doctor doesn’t believe the woman has cancer, he or she may still advise further evaluation or tests. Those tests should be done as soon as possible. The more information available, the faster and easier it will be to rule out the disease.

What should a woman do if her physician tells her not to worry, but she feels the breast exam was hurried? What if she thinks about it later and can’t get peace in spite of a benign evaluation?

It’s best never to ignore your intuition. Instead, go another step up the ladder; schedule a follow-up appointment yourself with a breast surgeon. It’s unlikely that you will be able to get this appointment quickly, but a few weeks delay at this point will not compromise your treatment.