Cancer guide
By Cura Editorial Team ·
The most common cancer in women — highly treatable when caught early, with treatment shaped by hormone receptor and HER2 status.
Early signs, which ones need a same-week doctor visit, and what screening looks like.
Read the symptoms guideThe questions that shape treatment — biomarkers, staging, surgery, chemo, second opinions.
Read the questions guideRecent approvals and trial results — and the questions to ask your oncologist about whether any of it applies to you. Not every option fits every person.
In the phase 3 DESTINY-Breast05 trial, Enhertu after surgery cut the risk of recurrence or death by 53% compared with T-DM1 for people with cancer left after pre-surgery treatment.
May apply to: HER2-positive early breast cancer with residual disease
Ask your oncologist:
Source: NEJM
In the phase 3 DESTINY-Breast11 trial, 67% of patients given Enhertu before surgery had no cancer found at surgery, versus 56% with standard chemotherapy.
May apply to: High-risk HER2-positive early breast cancer
Ask your oncologist:
Source: AstraZeneca
Reviewed September 25, 2026.
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The signs that most often lead to a breast cancer diagnosis are: a new lump or thickening in the breast or armpit; skin dimpling, nipple retraction, or unusual discharge; any breast change that persists more than one cycle. Any of these lasting more than a couple of weeks is worth a same-week appointment, even though most turn out to be something else.
See a doctor promptly if a symptom is new, persistent, or getting worse rather than better. Describe when it started, how often it happens, and what makes it better or worse — that detail is what decides whether you get imaging or testing at the first visit.
The most common cancer in women — highly treatable when caught early, with treatment shaped by hormone receptor and HER2 status. About 1 in 8 women in the US will be diagnosed in their lifetime. Screening mammograms are recommended starting at 40 for average risk. Hormone receptor (ER/PR) and HER2 status shape every treatment decision.
Ask what the exact diagnosis is and how it is staged, what the treatment options are and in what order they would happen, what the goal of treatment is, which side effects to expect, and whether a second opinion or clinical trial makes sense for your situation.
Paste a pathology report, upload a scan summary, or just type the question you'd ask your oncologist if you had more than 15 minutes. Cura will answer in plain language.
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If a start date is on the calendar, or you feel lost between diagnosis and the first infusion, build a first-visit brief on the page: what's known, what's missing, what to ask. Homework, not a treatment plan.
Cura Brief is educational. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a treatment plan. Confirm everything with your oncology team. If this is an emergency, call emergency services. Email is not an emergency line.
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Waiting for results is its own kind of hard. Cura has a plain-language guide to what the wait actually means — and what to do while you wait.
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