Care pathway for breast cancer

If you detect a lump or some other symptom suggesting breast cancer, mammography should be performed urgently, along with ultrasound examination of the breasts and armpits. When breast cancer is suspected, these examinations may be performed at a health center, in occupational health care, or at a private medical center. 

If any suspicious findings are found in the examinations performed on you in primary health care services, a core needle biopsy specimen will be taken under local anesthesia. If suspect lymph nodes are found in the armpit, a needle biopsy must be taken of those as well. 

If breast cancer is confirmed or strongly suspected in examinations performed in primary health care or at private healthcare services, you will be referred to the HUS Breast Surgery Unit. 

When your referral arrives at specialized healthcare, a breast cancer nurse will call you in about three days after the arrival of the referral. You will then be informed about your first outpatient clinic visit and any additional examinations needed at this time. We will also inform you of the preliminary schedule for your operation and any other matters you need to know. 

If necessary, you can also contact the HUS Comprehensive Cancer Center’s contact center or call your breast cancer nurse regarding any questions you may have. 

On the day before surgery, we will perform a lymphoscintigraphy related to a sentinel lymph node examination if necessary. 

Before surgery, you will have an appointment to meet with the surgeon, breast cancer nurse, anesthesiologist, or anesthesia nurse. 

We will either recommend proceeding with surgery and subsequent adjuvant therapy or pre-operative drug therapy, i.e. neoadjuvant therapy. 

After your breast cancer surgery, we will plan your follow-up treatment individually in a multidisciplinary breast cancer meeting.

After your breast cancer treatments, your follow-up will continue at the Comprehensive Cancer Center in accordance with your individual treatment plan. 

Good palliative care and psychosocial support are an integral part of cancer treatment. The Palliative Care Center provides help in the stressful life situation caused by the illness or cancer treatments. We provide help in treating difficult symptoms and offer conversational support. 

A decision on palliative, i.e. symptomatic, treatment is made when the focus of your treatment shifts from slowing down the progression of cancer to managing the symptoms. In this case, treatment aims to alleviate symptoms and, as far as possible, to ensure a good and active life with the illness until death. Typically, at this stage, your care responsibility is transferred to the Palliative Care Unit or to the palliative outpatient clinic or hospital-at-home unit in your area.

After your follow-up in specialized healthcare, we recommend continuing the mammography follow-up within the scope of the general screening for breast cancer until the age of 69, and then every two years until the age of 80 in outpatient healthcare services. At the end of the screening, you will need to schedule a mammography appointment at your local health center. There is no evidence of any further follow-up based on scientific research.