Drug therapies and surgery are the two primary options for breast cancer treatments, with your doctors (surgeon, medical oncologist and radiation oncologist) tailoring an individual treatment plan to the tumor size, location and personal circumstances.
Some women with early breast cancer opt for neoadjuvant therapy before surgery to help shrink the tumor and lower risk that cancer will return in other parts of the body. This approach may shrink tumor size while decreasing risk that cancer will return later.
Drug therapies and surgery are the two primary options for breast cancer treatments, with your doctors (surgeon, medical oncologist and radiation oncologist) tailoring an individual treatment plan to the tumor size, location and personal circumstances.
Some women with early breast cancer opt for neoadjuvant therapy before surgery to help shrink the tumor and lower risk that cancer will return in other parts of the body. This approach may shrink tumor size while decreasing risk that cancer will return later.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells and may be administered intravenously or orally as tablets. It can also be combined with radiation or hormone therapy treatments.
Doctors frequently employ chemotherapy prior to surgery in order to shrink tumors and make removal simpler, or afterward to lower the chances of breast cancer returning or spreading further.
Your doctor will recommend chemotherapy depending on your age and cancer type. He/she also takes into account your overall health status and response to prior treatments, with some chemotherapy drugs known to lower blood counts leading to dose adjustments with pegfilgrastim (Neulasta) available through either a drip or antibiotic tablets if this happens.
Some chemotherapy drugs can damage nerves in your hands, arms and feet resulting in numbness, pain, burning or tingling sensations and heat/cold sensitivity - symptoms which usually subside over time; however they could last even longer.
Hormone Therapy
Hormone therapy involves eliminating or blocking hormones that promote cancer development in order to shrink tumors before surgery and make removal simpler, or afterward as adjuvant therapy (postoperative treatment).
Anti-estrogen therapy or endocrine therapy refers to drugs that block estrogen production, including diethylstilbestrol (DES), progestins such as medroxyprogesterone or megestrol, and anti-androgens like bicalutamide (Casodex), flutamide (Euflex) or nilutamide (Anandron). Aromatase inhibitors can also stop estrogen production by binding with its responsible enzyme and block its effect on breast tissue cells.
Your doctor may suggest medications to target HER2-positive cancers, which grow more quickly and spread more readily than other forms of breast cancer. These HER2-targeted drugs work by blocking the protein required by cancer cells to grow and survive - often combined with chemotherapy drugs for maximum effectiveness.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy destroys cancer cells by damaging their genetic material, which regulates how cells grow and divide. Radiation can also harm healthy cells nearby the tumor site, but doctors strive to minimize any collateral damage by using radiation safely as much as possible, an approach known as minimizing side effects.
Radiation may be used alone or combined with other treatments like surgery, chemotherapy and hormone therapy to shrink tumors and stop any remaining cancer cell growth. External delivery via linear accelerator may be used; or internal delivery through brachytherapy implant placed near or inside of the tumor may also be possible.
Radiation therapy can be provided after breast-conserving surgery (commonly referred to as lumpectomy, breast conserving surgery or partial mastectomy) or after full mastectomy to decrease the risk of cancer coming back in another breast. The type and duration of radiation may depend upon each individual case but usually includes five-day-a-week therapy for six weeks or longer.
Surgery
Surgery to treat breast cancer involves extracting both cancerous tissue and an adjacent margin of healthy cells; this procedure is called lumpectomy or breast-conserving surgery, while full mastectomy entails removal of both. If surgery is recommended by your physician, ask them about its benefits, risks and options; all surgeries involve cutting or penetrating into body tissues; it's vitally important to fully comprehend all associated risks and potential side effects before proceeding with any procedure.
Women diagnosed with hormone receptor-positive cancer may benefit from chemotherapy before surgery to shrink their tumor and make removal simpler, as well as post-surgery to lessen the chances of it returning or spreading further.
After surgery, your surgeon will perform a preliminary cancer check of lymph nodes near the breast by injecting radioactive tracer or dye into a vein behind or around your nipple; it travels directly to lymph nodes near them and causes them to glow with color; if the sentinel lymph nodes test clear then further surgery may not be required.
