There is no such thing as a stress-free breast cancer diagnosis. Even the most well-prepared individuals should expect to take some time to re-assess their priorities and put together a plan for moving forward. To get started, you first need to consider your care team. This should be a combination of medical professionals and people close to you that you can count on for real support. Your chosen team will form the foundation for your treatment plan, so choose wisely. It all starts with finding the right doctor.
How to Choose a Breast Doctor?
Learning how to choose a breast doctor may take a little effort, but will prove worth it in the long run. When looking for the best breast cancer doctor Austin has, try visiting Breast Institute Austin. We provide a range of services for women in the area. For examinations and the best mammogram Austin has around, look no further.
Assessing Expertise
When it comes to choosing a doctor to lead your breast cancer response team, you should look for specialized expertise first. Here in the United States, we are lucky to have access to literally thousands of well-trained surgeons and oncologists. But not all have the same level of experience with breast cancer. As with any other cancer, you should be looking for a doctor who works with tumors in that region of the body.
Choose a doctor who works with breast cancer patients regularly. This way, there remains less of a chance that something will be missed. A doctor who looks at tumors in the breast every day is familiar with the tissue and know what complications are most likely to occur. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still do your homework. When meeting with a potential doctor, feel free to ask them about current advances in the field. Even if they aren’t performing research themselves, you want a doctor who is always interested in improving their techniques over their career. That information, along with any awards they’ve received and their overall track record, can help you to assess their level of expertise.
Finding a Connection
Expertise is arguably the most important factor in choosing a doctor, but it isn’t the only thing that matters. Ideally, you also want a doctor that communicates clearly and uses an empathetic approach. For many patients, looking for a human connection with their doctor is something of an afterthought, but having a relationship of trust with your doctor can actually make a marked difference in your treatment and recovery.
In particular, the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. urges patients to look for doctors who both listen to their concerns and take them seriously. This open exchange is important. It allows the patient to feel safe while maintaining an element of control in their treatment. The inclusion of the patient and an empathetic bedside manner are both comforting factors. They can help you when you’re feeling most vulnerable. So it’s really important to find a doctor that cares about you as a person and makes it clear.
Where to Start
For women who receive abnormal mammogram results, a specialized breast cancer institute is often the first point of contact. They usually have the benefit of communicative staff who are generally familiar with the difficulties of your diagnosis as well as world-class surgeons who can make all the difference. Breast Health Institute Austin is one such facility.
At the institute, Dr. Darlene M. Miltenburg purposefully approaches every patient with compassion as well as expertise. She is currently one of the top breast cancer surgeons in the country. She operates on approximately 700 patients per year. Her procedures deliver a “low complication rate” and “excellent cosmetic results.” In addition to offering specialized expertise, dedicated breast cancer treatment centers often streamline the complicated process of dealing with cancer. By enabling patients to have their tumor(s) removed, their cosmetic procedures performed, and their chemotherapy or radiation therapy delivered in the same facility, breast health institutes can make the process a little easier.