After you get a breast cancer diagnosis, it likely won’t be long before your doctor starts talking to you about lymph nodes. Lymph node involvement is an important part of staging and treatment with breast cancer.

Many moms want to breastfeed after undergoing breast cancer treatment, and while it may present a few challenges, it's certainly possible.

Radiation therapy for breast cancer uses high-energy X-rays, protons or other particles to kill cancer cells. Rapidly growing cells, such as cancer cells, are more susceptible to the effects of radiation therapy than are normal cells.

Overweight and obese women — defined as having a BMI (body mass index) over 25 — have a higher risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer compared to women who maintain a healthy weight, especially after menopause.

Not all women feel the same way about their breasts. Maybe breasts don't play too crucial a role in how you identify yourself as a woman. On the other hand, having breasts could be a really important part of your femininity.

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the U.S. But estimates suggest that as many as a third of cases could be prevented with diet and nutrition alone.

For so many breast cancer patients, radiation therapy can bring extraordinary benefits—top among them improved survival rates and reduced recurrence. But there are also challenges and questions: Why do some people experience a recurrence after treatment? How can we reduce side effects? How can we ensure the right patients receive radiation therapy—and that the treatment works as well as possible?

For months, AMA member Christiana Shoushtari, MD, MPH, a third-year internal medicine resident at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Illinois, was fighting on the front lines, attempting to beat back a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. Over the summer, she confronted another daunting opponent—breast cancer.

Having regular bowel movements during chemo is important to help detox the body of chemotherapy medications. In doing so, other side effects of chemo can be reduced. Backed-up bowels can also contribute to or worsen nausea and vomiting.

Simply getting a breast cancer diagnosis is good enough reason to seek a second opinion. Most people think nothing of shopping around before buying a car, renovating their home, or making some other major purchase. In the case of a cancer diagnosis, it can be helpful and even critically important to get another opinion before you make decisions about treatment.