What Can I Do to Ensure I Get Good Breast Cancer Care?

— -- Question: What can I do to ensure that I get quality care for my breast cancer?

Answer:The most important thing you can do when you're first diagnosed with breast cancer is take a deep breath and not rush into anything. A diagnosis of breast cancer is not an emergency; you have time to get a second opinion, to read, to educate yourself before you go along with your treatment.

The mistake that women make is to go to one doctor immediately, they're scared to death, the doctor says, "Oh, let's just cut your breast off," and they say, "Ok, maybe my life will go back to the way it was before -- which is never gonna happen -- and they rush into it and they don't always get the best treatment.

So take the time -- a week, two weeks -- to really figure this out. There are lots of options; you may want to get more than one opinion, you might want to read, you need to really investigate the situation before you have your treatment.

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