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Breast Cancer And Common Treatments

There are numerous factors that determine what course of treatment is prescribed for a case of breast cancer. The main considerations include but are not limited to the following:

The extent to which the cancer has grown and developed within the breast tissue, Whether the cancer has spread to other areas of the body,Whether the cancerous cells are sensitive to the hormone estrogen.

Once a full assessment has been made the treatment options can be explored, with the most common forms being surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and a combination of the above.

Surgical treatment for breast cancer

Surgery is nearly always the first line of treatment with regards to breast cancer. Small lumps can be removed with a lumpectomy whereas larger lumps will require what is called a quadrantectomy i.e. approximately ¼ of the breast tissue is removed. In severe or late stage cases a full mastectomy will need to be performed. This involves removing the entire breast and although harsh it is the best way to ensure the tumor is completely excised.

The majority of breast cancer surgeries effectively get rid of the cancerous tumour from the affected breast nevertheless complimentary therapies are also regularly used to assure any remaining cells are wiped out before they are able to multiply. For this reason a course of radiotherapy or chemotherapy is recommended following a successful surgery.

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy is regarded as the common type of secondary treatment following surgery. The majority of patients go through radiotherapy no matter what large their main breast cancer tumour was, and so this type of treatment should always be anticipated. Treatment usually begins about a month after surgery treatment and can last for around 6 weeks. The purpose of radiotherapy is to destroy any tiny clusters of breakaway cells that may be remaining following the surgical treatment. With this thought it is essential that the course is completed in its entirety.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy utilizes a number of cytotoxic drug treatments that are aimed at rapidly dividing cancerous tissues. A course of chemotherapy normally follows surgery when the breast cancer cells have spread through the bloodstream to other parts of the body. The chemotherapy drugs are administered in cycles of 3-4 weeks over the course of four or six months, and their aim is to kill the groups of cancerous cells that had spread all through the body prior to the primary tumor was cut off.

Hormone therapy

Occasionally breast cancer tumors are sensitive to the hormone estrogen, and it is the presence of this hormone that causes the tumor to grow and develop. In these cases it is often possible to use specific drugs to block the effects that estrogen has on the cancerous cells, the result being that the tumor stops growing or even shrinks in size.

If a breast cancer tumour is found to be estrogen sensitive then surgical treatment is rarely needed. The patient will be required to take the estrogen-blocking medicines long term nevertheless, and in some cases many people choose to have surgery instead.

In summary

Surgery is nearly always the primary form of treatment for breast cancer, unless the tumor is found to be estrogen sensitive. Following a successful surgery, radiotherapy is administered in patients that show no signs of the cancer elsewhere in the body. If however there are signs that the cancer has spread then chemotherapy will be used as a secondary treatment instead.

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