Diagnosis

Doctors often use additional tests to find or diagnose breast cancer.

• Breast ultrasound. A machine uses sound waves to make detailed pictures, called sonograms, of areas inside the breast.
• Diagnostic mammogram. If you have a problem in your breast, such as lumps, or if an area of the breast looks abnormal on a screening mammogram, doctors may have you get a diagnostic mammogram. This is a more detailed X-ray of the breast.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A kind of body scan that uses a magnet linked to a computer. The MRI scan will make detailed pictures of areas inside the breast.
• Biopsy. This is a test that removes tissue or fluid from the breast to be looked at under a microscope and do more testing. There are different kinds of biopsies (for example, fine-needle aspiration, core biopsy, or open biopsy). For more information, see the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's treatment guide titled "Having a Breast Biopsy: A Guide for Women and Their Families."

For more information, visit the National Cancer Institute's What You Need to Know About Breast Cancer: Detection and Diagnosis.

Staging

If breast cancer is diagnosed, tests are done to find out if cancer cells have spread within the breast or to other parts of the body. This process is called staging. Whether the cancer is only in the breast, is found in lymph nodes under your arm, or has spread outside the breast determines your stage of breast cancer. The type and stage of breast cancer tells doctors what kind of treatment will be needed.

For more information about staging, please visit the National Cancer Institute's Breast Cancer Treatment: Stages of Breast Cancer.