When a person is diagnosed, the procedures they undergo depend on what cancer they have. Diagnosis is made usually after a clinical examination followed by a biopsy. Dr Anusha Balakrishnan of Kauvery Hospital (Chennai), a Breast Surgeon who has done her Fellowship in Breast Oncology from TATA Memorial Hospital (Mumbai), tries to make the facts simple on what happens post-diagnosis.

Soon after the biopsy, the patient is asked to go for a metastatic workup. “This is to check if the cancer has localized or spread to any other part of the body. Based on that, we see if the patient will have to undergo curative procedures or palliative care,” she says.

Counselling is one of the vital steps in the management of breast cancer. They are counselled in a wholesome way and made aware of what type of breast cancer they have and how their cancer will be managed. In order to prevent the patient from getting into a mode of denial or from defaulting from the proposed treatment, the patient is motivated at every stage of their treatment and the relatives are also asked to remain positive and supportive of the patient.