Though breast cancer affects men as well as women, it occurs more frequently in women, and is the most common cancer among women, second only to skin cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic. A variety of treatments exists, and the type of treatment you receive depends on the type and stage of your breast cancer, your health and preferences and how sensitive the cancer cells may be to your hormones.
Surgery
The National Cancer Institute states that most cancer patients undergo surgery to remove the cancer from their breasts. Multiple types of surgeries can be performed, depending on the stage and severity of your cancer.
A lumpectomy includes removal of the tumor and a small amount of healthy tissue surrounding it, preventing the cancer from spreading while reducing the chance of the cancer returning to the breast. The Mayo Clinic explains that a lumpectomy is performed when the tumor is small and can be removed easily from the tissue that surrounds it.
A mastectomy is the removal of the breast and may be partial or total, according to the National Cancer Institute. During a partial, the surgeon removes the part of the breast containing the tumor, along with some surrounding healthy tissue, while a total mastectomy requires the removal of the entire breast.
Sentinel node biopsy, as the Mayo Clinic explains, is the removal of one lymph node under the arm nearest to the location of the breast cancer. A surgeon will choose carefully, determining which node receives the most drainage from the breast cancer. This is the node that poses the greatest risk of spreading the cancer throughout your body via the lymph system. Once the node is removed, the doctor will biopsy it. If it is not cancerous, the risk to the other lymph nodes in the same area are minimal, meaning their removal is not necessary.
Should the original lymph node removed during the sentinel node biopsy contain cancer, your doctor may choose to perform an axillary lymph node dissection. During this procedure, your surgeon removes several nodes from your armpit. Once your doctor has some idea how far your cancer has spread, the easier it is for him to decide on what additional treatments you need.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is just as it sounds; it incorporates the use of some type of radiation or high-energy X-rays to destroy cancer cells, and does so in a precise manner as the beams are aimed directly at the site of the cancer cells.
External beam is the most frequently used type of radiation therapy for breast cancer treatment, according to the Mayo Clinic. It is a common choice of treatment for those with early-stage breast cancer after a lumpectomy is performed, and may also be used after a mastectomy. This helps ensure that all cancer cells in the breast area are destroyed, thus preventing the cancer from spreading or returning.
The most common side effects include a rash that appears as a sunburn in the area where the radiation therapy is directed, along with fatigue.
Chemotherapy
Sometimes referred to as adjunct therapy due to the fact that it is used in combination with surgery, radiation or both, chemotherapy may be used before or after surgery, making the tumor more operable.
Chemotherapy, unlike radiation, uses drugs to kill the cancer and is not as precise as radiation. It can be, however, just as effective. The drugs--which are typically administered orally or intravenously--travel through your system to reach the cancer cells, destroying them along the way. Unfortunately, these drugs cannot differentiate between healthy cells and cancer cells, destroying both. Destruction of healthy cells often results in unpleasant side effects such as nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and hair loss.
If a woman has a larger tumor that the doctor feels is inoperable due to its size, he may require that she undergo chemotherapy for a period of time to help shrink the tumor. Doing this makes it easier to remove the tumor and increases the woman's chances of survival, according to the Mayo Clinic.
It may also be used when the cancer has spread to various areas of the body; areas radiation cannot reach. This helps control and manage the cancer while decreasing the symptoms cancer can produce.
Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERMs)
Selective estrogen receptor modulators are administered to patients for one of three reasons, according to the website BreastCancer.org.
They are prescribed is to prevent breast cancer from returning. In these cases it may be administered after surgery, radiation or chemotherapy.
Next, it may be given to patients who suffer from advanced-stage cancer, hormone-receptor-positive cancer, or cancer that has spread.
Finally, these drugs may be used as a preventative measure in women who have not yet been diagnosed but are at an increased risk of developing this disease.
SERMs work by blocking the estrogen receptors in the cells of the breast. As BreastCancer.org states, once the estrogen is blocked, it is unable to attach itself to the cells of the breast, thus inhibiting the cell's ability to receive signals from the estrogen telling it to grow and multiply. These are the cells responsible for breast cancer.
Three SERMs are currently available and include tamoxifen, the oldest and most prescribed of the three. This is followed by raloxifene and toremifene.
