Finding a board-certified breast cancer specialist may seem like a daunting process for a few reasons. First, no one specialist will help treat your breast cancer--it is likely that you will have a team of specialists working with you and your family doctor to treat the disease. Secondly, there are no board certifications for some aspects of breast cancer treatment. Third, resources are wide and varied. It can be incredibly difficult to know where to look first. But ultimately, once you develop a plan of action, finding a board-certified breast cancer specialist is easy.
Instructions
Find a Board-Certified Breast Cancer Specialist
1. Work through your family doctor. Chances are good that your family doctor was the first physician you visited once you suspected you had breast cancer--or he was the doctor who found it. Working through him and his office staff is the easiest method of finding board-certified breast cancer specialists. Because he likely already has an established referral network and professional-level resources that you may not be able to access, it's easiest to ask your doctor for help first.
2. Determine what kind of specialist you need for specific treatments. Do you need a breast surgeon? A radiation oncologist? A medical oncologist? What about a plastic surgeon? All of these specialists treat breast cancer patients. Once you determine the kind of specialist you need, the search becomes somewhat easier.
3. Use professional resources, and dig a little deeper. Remember that some professions do not have a specific specialty board certification for just breast cancer--so you will have to think broadly for some specialists. For example, radiation oncologists take the American Board of Radiology exam and obtain a special certificate in radiation oncology. Medical oncologists take the American Board of Internal Medicine exam and subspecialize in hematology/oncology. Breast surgeons take the American Board of Surgery exam, focusing on general surgery. Plastic surgeons take the American Board of Plastic Surgery exam and occasionally subspecialize in reconstructive surgery. Each of these medical boards has online tools to search for specialists in your area.
4. Talk with the staff at your nearby community hospital. Because most hospitals organize specialists into care teams by disease, you can check to see if the breast cancer specialists at your community hospital have received board certification in their respective medical boards.
Tags: American Board, breast cancer, take American, take American Board, board-certified breast, family doctor, your family
