Treatments for Breast Cancer

Treatments for breast cancer are different depending on the kind of breast cancer you're dealing with. Certain treatments work better in certain stages of cancer. Here is an overview of breast cancer treatments.

For cancer that has not spread, treatment for breast cancer may involve a lumpectomy. This is a surgery that spares most of your breast. At a later stage of cancer, you might have a total mastectomy. This surgery removes most of your breast. Radiation and medication are sometimes used as well.

If you have a breast lump, doctors will do a biopsy to find out if the lump is cancerous, and if so, what kind of cancer it is. The doctor can do a mastectomy to prevent other cancers from occurring, or the doctor can watch to see if the cancer spreads. The doctor will probably use Tamoxifen, a cancer drug, to reduce the chance it will spread. Treatments of breast cancer for this type are less serious than with other kinds of cancers.

Breast cancer treatments for stage I and stage II cancer involve removing only your breast and the surrounding tissue. Doctors can also do a surgery called a modified radical mastectomy to remove your entire breast.

Then, your lymph nodes are dissected to see how much cancer is in them, or if they are infected at all. Some clinical trials are taking a sample of a sentinel lymph node before completing the surgery. This also works for Stage IIIA breast cancer.

There is another therapy besides surgery. It helps increase the chance of curing your cancer. This therapy involves radiation therapy to the chest wall and lymph node area in the armpit. It can also involve chemotherapy drugs and hormone therapy to block the tumor from growing. Another treatment is called Herceptin, which blocks Her2 receptors on tumor cells, preventing the growth of tumor cells.

When treatments for breast cancer can't be used because the tumor is inoperable, other treatments must be used. Chemotherapy is often used to shrink the cancer. After it helps kill cancer cells, doctors can remove the bulk of the cancer. This surgery can spare parts of your breast that aren't involved with the tumor. Doctors can also do a total mastectomy to remove the entire breast.

Hormonal therapy is important, too, because it blocks the growth of the cancer by blocking its hormone receptors. There are estrogen and progesterone receptors on the cancer cells that can be blocked. The Her2 receptor can also be blocked.

"As far as traditional treatments go, ask your doctor if some upcoming treatments might work for you. New anticancer drugs are being studied all the time." In Stage IV breast cancer, the cancer has spread to other body parts. The treatments of breast cancer of this stage involve giving hormone therapy or chemotherapy in the beginning of treatment. Doctors can use something called tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy (which blocks more cancer cell receptors) and radiation therapy. Doctors can do surgery if it could rid your body of most of the tumor cells. Herceptin is sometimes used if the cancer is Her2 receptor positive.

There are many treatment options for breast cancer.

Some doctors use biphosphonate drugs during treatment to reduce the risk of bone disease. This is used when the cancer has spread to bone. Some clinical trials are using stem cell transplants to treat breast cancer, but you might also need to consider the cost of such a treatment.>

There are also alternative breast cancer treatments. Some methods include yoga to calm and strengthen the body. Some include vitamins and herbs. These are dietary supplements that keep the body strong and healthy.

Some people try meditation, and say it relaxes the mind. It prepares the body to be treated with regular medical treatments. Complimentary medicine does not cure breast cancer, but it can help you feel better prepared to handle conventional treatments.

As far as traditional treatments go, ask your doctor if some upcoming treatments might work for you. New anticancer drugs are being studied all the time. You can enroll in a breast cancer study and see if you meet the criteria to get those treatments. One of the new treatments might be very helpful in your fight against cancer.