When/How is Diagnosis?

My MIL has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a mammogram, ultrasound, MRI, and biopsy. But after the biopsy, all the surgeon said was cancer. Then she was left on her own to find the oncologist. We got an appointment for Tuesday for onc. Is this when she will know the type? Are there specific questions she should ask? From reading this & other sites, it may be IBC, as she has not had a lump, but rather a sheet/hardness, and the rashing, etc. Any help is appreciated. She is, as you all know, overwhelmed; and I would like to give her a set of questions, and a kind of "this is what to expect next."

Thank you. I am so thankful you are here, and so sorry for everyone's pain.

-Shannon

I went with her to onc. I've been reading & researching, so I sort of knew a few questions to ask. But she has to have a PET scan & echocardiogram this week, then onc again next Thursday. The hospital that did the biopsy had never sent the pathology report, so the first onc visit turned out to be a kind of , here's what we do know (IBC), here's what we do next (two tests), here's the staff, and here's the financial advisor's number.

The MD was okay. But his office staff ... wow! How sweet & encouraging & helpful. I have already called there at least 20 times, and they are always fabulous.

My next strategic action is to go to her house on Saturday & organize all the records with a pendaflex I got. I'm getting us matching calendars to track appts. And I have a notebook I'm writing everything down in.

Thank you, thank you, Marin for responding. I really needed to know that someone read this.