Breast Cancer Diagnosis

In order to make a breast cancer diagnosis, a doctor usually begins by asking about the patient's history and performs a physical exam. Additional steps involved in making a breast cancer diagnosis may include mammograms, MRI tests, and fine-needle aspiration. Once a breast cancer diagnosis is confirmed, additional tests are used to help in planning treatment.

 

Breast Cancer Diagnosis: An Overview

If you have symptoms of breast cancer or a screening test result that suggests cancer, your doctor must find out whether it is due to cancer or to some other cause.
 
In order to make a breast cancer diagnosis, your doctor may:
 
  • Ask about your personal and family medical history.
  • Perform a physical exam.
  • Order a mammogram or other imaging procedure. These tests make pictures of tissues inside the breast.
     
After the tests, your doctor may decide that no other exams are needed. Your doctor may suggest that you have a follow-up exam later on. Or, you may need to have a biopsy to look for cancer cells. A biopsy is a procedure in which a piece of tissue is removed so that it can be examined further.
 

Breast Cancer Diagnosis: Tests

Certain exams and tests your doctor may use to make a breast cancer diagnosis include:
 
  • Clinical breast exam
  • Diagnostic mammogram
  • Ultrasound
  • MRI
  • Biopsy
  • Fine-needle aspiration
  • Additional tests.
     
Clinical Breast Exam
In this exam, your healthcare provider feels each breast for lumps and looks for other problems. If you have a lump, your doctor will feel its size, shape, and texture. Your doctor will also check to see if it moves easily. Benign lumps often feel different from cancerous ones. Lumps that are soft, smooth, round, and movable are likely to be benign. A hard, oddly shaped lump that feels firmly attached within the breast is more likely to be cancer.
(Breast Cancer Diagnosis Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD