Breast cancer often requires aggressive drug treatment, as uncontrolled breast cancer growth can prove fatal. Breast cancer treatment typically involves surgery to remove all or part of the affected breast, along with radiation therapy or chemotherapy to kill any cancer cells remaining after surgery. In some cases, breast cancer patients may also receive hormone-based therapies designed to disrupt hormone signaling to breast cancer cells and slow cancer growth. These treatments all have a range of side effects, which can lead to complications in breast cancer treatment.
Infection
Many cases of breast cancer require surgery to remove the breast tumor. Patients with earlier-stage breast cancers may receive a lumpectomy--a surgery to remove the breast lump while conserving the rest of the breast--while patients with more advanced cancer may require a mastectomy, total removal of the affected breast. Breast cancer surgeries carry the risk of infection at the site of the surgical incision, according to Medline Plus. Breast cancer patients who contract an infection due to breast cancer surgery may experience abnormal warmth and swelling in the affected breast, along with fever and fatigue. The infection can delay further cancer treatment, since previous illness from the infection can increase harmful side effects of other treatments. Patients can reduce their risk of infection by taking antibiotics following surgery and by following the doctor's instructions to keep the wound clean during the healing process.
Neutropenia
Another common complication of breast cancer therapy is neutropenia, a condition in which the body does not have sufficient numbers of functional white blood cells. Since white blood cells help make up the immune system, patients with neutropenia suffer from immunodeficiency and they are vulnerable to infection and disease. In extreme cases, neutropenia may require temporary cessation of cancer treatment to allow the body to recover.
Neutropenia develops as a result of chemotherapy, according to Imaginis. Chemotherapy drugs typically target rapidly-proliferating cells in the body, and can harm healthy cells as well as cancer cells. Among the healthy cells affected are blood stem cells that give rise to white blood cells, and when the stem cells become damaged they cannot form white blood cells. Patients with severe neutropenia may receive drugs to increase white blood cell numbers.
Uterine Cancer
Another possible complication of cancer therapy is the development of uterine cancer as a result of hormone therapies. One very common hormonal breast cancer drug is Tamoxifen, a drug that prevents breast cancer cells from sensing estrogen in the bloodstream. By preventing estrogen from signalling to breast cancer cells, Tamoxifen helps stop cancer cell proliferation and treats the breast cancer. The estrogen in the bloodstream, however, is still free to interact with cells in other organs; modifying natural estrogen signaling with Tamoxifen can affect the uterus. The National Cancer Institute indicates that patients who receive Tamoxifen have an increased risk of developing cancer in the muscles of the uterus or in the uterine lining. As a result, patients receiving Tamoxifen must undergo regular screening for early detection and treatment of uterine cancer.
