DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENT

On behalf of those who have battled breast cancer and the hundreds of thousands who soon will, Williams, a mother of two in her 40s who completed treatment last year at Huntington Hospital, is on a mission to celebrate them publicly as marks of strength, perseverance, femininity and beauty.

Learning you have cancer is a little like being dropped into a strange country where you don't speak the language. You may not even know what "biopsy" means when you're first diagnosed, but within a few weeks, you'll be speaking medicalese like a native.

If you’re having symptoms of breast cancer or have something suspicious that has shown up on a previous test, your doctor will want to follow up. Your doctor is likely to ask you questions concerning these things:

• Your medical history
• Your family history of cancer
• Any exposure to other risk factors, such as high doses of radiation

If you’re having symptoms that are like those of cervical cancer, your doctor will want to know why. Your doctor will ask some questions regarding the following:

• Medical history
• Smoking history
• Family history of cancer
• How old you were when you first had sexual intercourse
• If you have had unprotected sex
• Other risk factors such as a history of genital warts or human papillomas virus (HPV) infection

If you’re having symptoms that might be caused by cancer in the uterus, your doctor will want to check further. Your doctor is likely to ask you questions about the following:

• Your health history
• Your reproductive history, such as when you had your first period, how many times you’ve been pregnant, and whether you have gone through menopause
• Your family history of cancer
• Lifestyle habits, such as what you eat

Many ovarian cancers' symptoms do not show themselves until the late stages. If you have any or if your doctor found a mass during a routine pelvic exam, he or she is likely to ask questions about the following:

• Medical history
• Family history of cancer
• Reproductive history, such as whether or not you’ve been pregnant

If one or more of the signs and symptoms described here is present, certain exams and tests may be done to find out whether they are caused by pancreatic cancer or by some other disease.