Timothy Moynihan, M.D., Mayo Clinic oncologist

I think there are five key individuals who can help you make appropriate decisions regarding your treatment for breast cancer.

The first should be your family physician, who hopefully you've worked with for many years and knows you well — knows you, your preferences, how you would like to approach this. Plus, they can coordinate the team that will help you treat this disease.

Secondly would be the surgeon. This would be the people who would make the initial decisions regarding what type of operation is best for you. Can we undergo a breast-conserving operation? If not, do we need to do a mastectomy, and what are the options for reconstruction after that, that would be appropriate for you?

Third would be your medical oncologist. These would be the individuals who specialize in treatment of cancer, and they will help make decisions: Should you receive chemotherapy? Hormone therapy? Radiation treatments or any other therapy after the operation is done?

Fourth would be the radiation oncologist: Whether or not you need radiation oncology. It's always worth getting their opinion. They can discuss the side effects, the benefits, the relative risks associated with radiation therapy, which is a very common part of many women's cancer treatment.

Fifth is the people who can help support your decisions and your emotions through this time, such as support group people or psychologists. These can often be a great sense of strength and help you understand that you're not alone going through this. Many women have undergone these same types of treatments and done well with it, but oftentimes have benefitted from the support of these trained professionals.

VIDEO HELP

If the video does not play, you may need to download and install the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player. For additional troubleshooting tips, browse the Multimedia FAQ.