Choosing treatments for breast cancer

Breast cancer can be treated with mastectomy or breast-conserving surgery, lumpectomy followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy at times. These are the best ways to prevent cancer recurrence. The most common site for cancer to come back is in the same area where they first met.

Determining what is the best treatment for an individual is based on the pathology of the disease. The initial biopsy is done when cancer is first suspected, it will tell what kind of cancer it is and whether it is hormone receptive. Knowledge of hormone receptors, or is not, be part of decision making for treatment of an individual's information. Some types of tumors are stimulated by hormones that are normal in the woman's body, such as progesterone, estrogen, and HER-2. A tumor can show a positive response to one or more of these hormones. By knowing this information, a treatment plan can be offered to improve the chances of a woman of cancer-free survival.

The pathology surgery to remove the cancerous tumor, you will know if the tumor was removed and if the cancer is found in lymph nodes. During surgery, the surgeon can see the cancerous tumor, but not all cancer cells can be displayed. As the tumor is sent to a pathologist who makes the tumor and surrounding tissue was removed by the surgeon under the microscope. In this way cancer cells that might be outside of the primary tumor can be seen. Lymph nodes were removed during surgery can also be seen under a microscope and can determine whether cancer cells in lymph nodes. Often, a sentinel node can be found, if a dye is used before surgery. The dye is injected before surgery and can show that it is the primary node that drains fluid from the tumor site of cancer. (The lymphatic system drains liquids blood throughout the body.)

If the lymph nodes was found that cancer cells within them the cancer has moved from the tumor site to other parts of the body. This movement of cancer cells indicates tumor metastasis or cancer cells traveling lost in the body. The final pathology offered much information about the type of cancer, the location of the cancer and how best to treat cancer to provide a life free of cancer for women.

A woman who has been diagnosed with cancer from a biopsy, a surgeon to see that specializes in breast cancer. Surgery to remove the tumor is always necessary, as long as the tumor is in the chest that will grow and it is likely that cancer cells away from the main tumor and spread throughout the body. These cells move away from the main tumor settle and grow into tumors in other parts of the body, not just the chest. The surgeon will ask about the health of women and ask about the woman's family. If a woman has relatives who have or have had breast cancer, this information will be included in treatment decisions. Then the surgeon will discuss ways to treat cancer. A mastectomy is the removal of the breast that has cancer in it, with one or more lymph nodes is an option. A lumpectomy, which involves removing the cancer tumor and a small amount of tissue surrounding the tumor is another option. The tumor size determined by mammography, influence these decisions. If the tumor is large for a lumpectomy may not be a good choice. The smaller the tumor, the greater the probability of survival for women. The larger the tumor the more involved surgery will be, as a mastecomy. Sometimes chemotherapy is necessary before surgery, chemotherapy is expected to shrink the tumor and kill cancer cells that may have been away from the main tumor (metastasis). When this is done before surgery, the hope is that after surgery most or all of the cancer is gone and only the radiation will be necessary. You may need chemotherapy after surgery, depending on the type and stage of cancer.

Often the surgeon will ask a woman to see a radiation oncologist before your surgery. This consultation will allow radiation oncologists, another doctor who specializes in radiation cancer, to review the case of women and offer treatment options. The options of this doctor can give are whole breast radiation after surgery or partial breast radiation after surgery, radiation or not if a woman has a mastectomy and are not cancer cells outside the breast that was removed during the surgery.

One type of partial breast radiation is brachytherapy. Breast brachytherapy has been available for some time, but not all doctors are familiar with it. Breast brachytherapy is a good option for some women. The tumor size and tumor location are two of the determinations of whether this is a good option. If the cancer is out side of the breast, brachytherapy is not an option for a woman. Brachytherapy is radiation to the area where the tumor was cancerous. This is where most cancers come back, in the same area they were going to start. Brachytherapy can be given over five days, where breast radiation as a whole if they are given over 6 weeks. This is an advantage for women who do not live near a center for cancer treatment, women who live a busy life (mostly women) or women who do not want to continue their treatment. When a woman decides to breast brachytherapy applicator that allows the radiation to go right into the space where the cancer was placed at the time of surgery. Brachy means close. It is another advantage of brachytherapy. Only the tissue around where the tumor was irradiated cancer, normal tissue is exposed or not at all, or as a low-level radiation is not affected by radiation.

Brachytherapy treatments are given twice daily, at least 6 hours between treatments, for a total of ten treatments. This type of radiation requires special equipment and knowledge, many cancer centers now have the equipment and radiation oncologists who specialize in this treatment.

The other type of partial breast radiation is accelerated partial breast radiation. This treatment also requires that the tumor is small and no cancer was found outside the breast. This type of radiation can be administered over a shorter time, days instead of weeks. The team to take these treatments IMRT, most if not all cancer centers have. This is the external radiation, which runs from the outside of the breast inside the breast and radiates the whole fabric of the area. The advantages of this treatment takes less time, although it is two treatments a day for at least 6 hours apart, and only the portion of the irradiated breast cancer when the tumor.

Whole-breast radiation has been around for a very long time and is what all women received until the last 15 years. This type of radiation treatment is a day Monday through Friday for 6 weeks, a total of 30 treatments. It is external beam radiation, which runs from the outside of the breast inside the breast and radiates throughout the breast tissue and its surroundings, not just the area where the tumor was. This type of treatment is enhanced when the tumor is larger or the cancer cells are found outside the breast, for example, in one or more lymph nodes. Lymph nodes may be included in the radiation of the breast. Some women will choose whole breast radiation, since it has been used for so long. Partial breast radiation has been demonstrated as effective in studies, when the woman is a candidate for brachytherapy.

Chemotherapy and hormonal therapy or biological therapy are needed in specific cases. These treatment options should be dicussed with the surgeon, oncologist and medical oncologist.

What ever elect a woman is given must be well understood before she makes her decision. Ask questions of your doctors and talk to their loved ones will be very useful. If the decision of the woman is thought likely to be the best option for her. Prayer is always beneficial.

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