You just learned you have breast cancer. What’s next?

Steven Katz, an internist at the University Michigan, researches how medical decisions are made. Over the last dozen years, he has surveyed 10,000 patients and their doctors to better understand how they discuss a diagnosis and decide to proceed.

“Women have taught me a lot,” says Katz. Sorting out various options can be “very confusing and very tough.” He has distilled what he has learned and offers the following suggestions for women suddenly confronted with breast cancer. More than a quarter-million women in the United States are diagnosed with the disease every year.