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| There are many different types
of breast cancer, so the treatment is not the same
for every women. The treatment of breast cancer
is determined by many factors such as: |
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Tumor
stage |
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Tumor
type |
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Tumor
characteristics |
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Patient’s
general health |
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Medical
conditions that may influence treatment |
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Age |
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After breast cancer has been staged,
a comprehensive treatment plan will be developed
by physicians, including Oncologist ( cancer specialist).Your
treatment plan must be developed to your individual
needs
Four types of standard treatment are used: |
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| Surgery |
| Most patients with breast cancer
have surgery to remove the cancer from the breast.
Some of the lymph nodes under the arm are usually
taken out and looked at under a microscope to see
if they contain cancer cells. Breast-conserving
surgery, an operation to remove the cancer but
not the breast itself, includes the following: |
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Lumpectomy: |
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Removal
of the tumor and a small amount of normal tissue
around it. Lumpectomy is usually followed by radiation
therapy to the breast. Most doctors also take out
some of the lymph nodes under the arm. The nodes
themselves are embedded in fatty tissue and difficult
to see, so the surgeon removes a portion of fatty
tissue, and then a pathologist carefully separates
the nodes from the rest of the tissue |
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Partial
or segmental mastectomy: |
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Removal
of the cancer, some of the breast tissue around
the tumor, and the lining over the chest muscles
below the tumor. Some of the lymph nodes under
the arm are usually taken out. In most cases, partial
mastectomy is followed by radiation therapy. The
shape of the breast is changed very little after
a segmental mastectomy. |
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Total
or simple mastectomy: |
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Removal
of the whole breast( including the nipple and surrounding
areola). Sometimes lymph nodes under the arm are
also taken out This type of surgery is typically
performed for noninvasive breast cancers |
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Modified
radical mastectomy: |
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Removal
of the entire breast ( including the nipple ) many
of the lymph nodes under the arm, the lining over
the chest muscles, and sometimes, part of the chest
wall muscles. |
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Radical
mastectomy (some times called the Halsted radical
mastectomy): |
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the
breast, chest muscles, and all of the lymph nodes
under the arm. This surgery is used only when the
tumor has spread to the chest muscles. |
| Even if the doctor removes all
of the cancer that can be seen at the time of surgery,
the patient may be given radiation therapy, chemotherapy,
or hormone therapy after surgery to try to kill
any cancer cells that may be left. Treatment given
after surgery to increase the chances of a cure
is called adjuvant therapy. |
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| Radiation Therapy |
| Radiation therapy is the use of
x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer
cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy may
use external radiation (using a machine outside
the body) or internal radiation. Internal radiation
involves putting radioisotopes (materials that
produce radiation) through thin plastic tubes into
the area where cancer cells are found. Radiation
may be used after surgery in addition to chemotherapy,
and hormone therapy. Breast cancer is treated with
external radiation. |
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| Chemotherapy |
| Chemotherapy is the use of drugs
to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be taken
by mouth, or it may be put into the body by inserting
a needle into a vein or muscle. Either type of
chemotherapy is called systemic treatment because
the drugs enter the bloodstream, travel through
the body, and can kill cancer cells throughout
the body. |
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| Hormone Therapy |
Hormones are chemicals produced
by glands in the body and are circulated in the
bloodstream. Estrogen and progesterone are hormones
that affect the way some cancers grow. If tests
show that the cancer cells have estrogen and progesterone
receptors (molecules found in some cancer cells
to which estrogen and progesterone will attach),
hormone therapy is used to block the way these
hormones help the cancer grow. This may be done
by using drugs that block the way hormones work
or by surgically removing organs that make hormones,
such as the ovaries.
Hormone therapy with tamoxifen is often given to
patients with early stages of breast cancer and
those with meta static breast cancer (cancer that
has spread to other parts of the body). Hormone
therapy with tamoxifen or estrogens can act on
cells all over the body and may increase the chance
of developing endometrial cancer. Women taking
tamoxifen should have a pelvic examination every
year to look for any signs of cancer. Any vaginal
bleeding, other than menstrual bleeding, should
be reported to a doctor as soon as possible. |
| Other types of treatment are being
tested in clinical trials. These include the following: |
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Sentinel lymph followed by surgery. node
biopsy. Sentinel lymph node biopsy is a procedure
in which the doctor injects a radioactive substance
and/or blue dye near the tumor. The substance or
dye flows through lymph ducts to the sentinel node
or nodes (the first lymph node or nodes where cancer
cells are likely to have spread). The surgeon removes
only nodes with the radioactive substance or dye.
A pathologist then checks the sentinel lymph nodes
for cancer cells. If no cancer cells are detected,
it may not be necessary to remove additional nodes.
After the sentinel lymph node biopsy, the surgeon
removes the tumor (breast-conserving surgery or
mastectomy). |
| High-dose chemotherapy with bone
marrow transplantation and peripheral blood stem
cell transplantation. Chemotherapy can reduce the
ability of bone marrow to make blood cells. Bone
marrow transplantation and peripheral blood stem
cell transplantation have been tested as ways to
help the blood recover so that higher than standard
doses of chemotherapy can be given. The use of
high-dose chemotherapy followed by bone marrow
transplantation or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation
has not been shown to work better than standard
chemotherapy in the treatment of breast cancer.
Doctors have decided that, for now, high-dose chemotherapy
should only be tested in clinical trials. Before
taking part in such a trial, women should talk
with their doctors about the serious side effects
caused by high-dose chemotherapy. |
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