Breast Cancer Treatment

Breast cancer is usually treated with surgery, medications, and radiation therapy. Decisions about how to treat breast cancer are based on a combination of factors that include specific information about the cancer, the patient's preferences, and their health. Prognosis and treatment depends on the size and location of the breast cancer, how the breast cancer cells look under the microscope, whether the breast cancer responds to hormones and finally, whether the lymph nodes in the underarm area contain breast cancer cells.

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More about Breast Cancer Treatment
Other considerations for the patients' treatment plan should include their feelings about keeping their breast, the personal/family history of breast cancer and any other serious health problems.

Initial treatment of breast cancer may include;
Surgery with either mastectomy or breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) to remove the cancer. Some or all of the lymph nodes under the arm are also removed.
Radiation therapy.
Chemotherapy or hormone therapy may also be recommended. This can also be done before surgery to shrink the cancer. Even if the doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the operation, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or a combination of the three therapies may be given after surgery, to try to destroy any cancer cells that may be left in your body.

Following the initial treatment for breast cancer, a patient should see their family doctor, general practitioner, medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, or surgeon at regularly scheduled intervals, depending on their individual situation. The length of time between visits will gradually lengthen until at 5 years, if no new problems develop, it should be about once each year. These follow up visits normally involve a Physical examinations or Mammograms to screen for breast cancer and investigate lumps that can be felt during the breast examination.

After treatment for breast cancer, it is important to continue to do monthly breast self-examinations. Regular self-examinations will help detect early signs of recurrences. Early signs of recurrence may appear in the incision area itself, the opposite breast, the armpit, or area above the collarbone. If new problems develop, additional tests like blood tests, bone scans, chest X-rays, CT scans, or MRI tests may be required.

The likelihood that breast cancer will return following treatment depends on a number of factors, including the size and grade of your breast cancer, whether there were breast cancer cells in the lymph nodes, how many lymph nodes were involved with breast cancer, and how well the patient responded to the treatment.

During treatment for any stage of breast cancer, home treatment can be used to help manage the side effects that may accompany breast cancer or cancer treatment. In general, healthy habits such as eating a balanced diet and getting enough sleep and exercise may help control the symptoms.Home treatment for fatigue includes taking extra rest during chemotherapy or radiation therapy.