Today there are an increasing number of options for treating breast cancer.
Surgery
The primary method of local treatment is surgery, in which case tumor(s) are removed from the breast. Procedures such as lumpectomy or mastectomy would apply. Surgery can also include the removal of axillary lymph nodes.
Radiation
Radiation therapy, which is applied at the site of the cancer, is another form of local treatment. Radiation destroys single or very small clusters of cancer cells that may still exist even after surgery. You can expect to receive radiation therapy 5 days a week for 5-6 weeks. The good news is that each treatment lasts for only a few minutes.
Following surgery and/or radiation therapy, most patients will be treated with chemotherapy or hormonal therapy to eliminate any remaining cancer cells.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a treatment that is intended to kill cancer cells in the body. There are different types of chemotherapy but all of them have the potential for causing side effects, some of which can be serious. The best way to find out about drug-related side effects is to ask your doctor.
Hormonal therapy
Hormonal therapy is a medical treatment to reduce a patient's estrogen level or prevent estrogen from reaching the tumor. Estrogen plays an important role in breast cancer because it feeds some tumors and makes them grow and spread. These breast cancers are termed hormone dependent orestrogen dependent or estrogen receptor-positive. Hormonal therapy in breast cancer works to block the effect of estrogen, either directly or indirectly. In premenopausal women, the ovaries are the primary source of estrogen production. In postmenopausal women, the ovaries no longer produce estrogen. However, the body produces some estrogen from other hormones known as androgens through the action of an enzyme called aromatase. The goal of hormonal therapy in breast cancer is to deprive the cancer cells of the estrogen that allows them to grow.
