Breast Cancer Treatments

In this article I am going to cover options for treating breast cancer, once it has been diagnosed.

Unlike years ago when options for treatment were few and not very effective, today there are many options for treating breast cancer, many with excellent results and chances for full recovery, depending on the type of breast cancer and how advanced it is.

Here is a brief overview of your options today.

1. Local Regional Treatment. This is actually treatment of the lymph nodes in the area surrounding the breast as well as the breast itself. If metastatic disease is present then the treatment is given to specific areas. One of these methods is radiation therapy or radiotherapy. Much to womens’ surprise there are very few side effects from this therapy and they are restricted to the area being treated. Radiotherapy is an effective way to destroy the cancer cells and provide the best chance that the cancer will not come back.

Another method of this type of treatment is surgery which is usually the last recourse when all other methods have failed. With surgery in many cases reconstruction is needed afterwards as often part or all of the breast needs to be removed, which is called having a mastectomy. However, even this radical a surgery is not as drastic as it was years ago. Today every attempt is made to preserve as much of the healthy breast as possible.

2. Systemic Treatments. This is where the whole body is treated as a system.

The most common systemic treatment is chemotherapy. The purpose of chemotherapy is to get rid of any cancer cells that may have spread from the breast to other areas of the body. The reason chemotherapy works and also the reason it is so hard on your body is because it attacks the rapidly dividing cancer cells in your body. Unfortunately cancer cells are not the only cells in your body that divide, thus the reason that chemotherapy can have such a sickening effect on a person. Still, chemotherapy is not as hard to go through today as it was years ago and is an important insurance policy against the spread of the disease, especially to the lymph nodes, which in many cases is fatal.

Another treatment that isn't as common is tamoxifen, which is a very powerful drug. This drug reduces the risk of breast cancer returning after surgery and even reduces the risk of a woman ever getting breast cancer. However the side effects, though not fatal, can be very serious and uncomfortable. They include blood clots and uterine cancer, hot flushes, early menopause, problems with fertility, nausea and vomiting, weight gain, mood swings, depression and loss of energy.

3. Alternative and Holistic Treatments. These are treatments where the body, mind and spirit are all treated. Unfortunately there is very little medical evidence to show that these treatments are effective. Some of these alternative methods include acupuncture, meditation, relaxation techniques, and the use of flaxseed and black cohosh. Flaxseed supposedly reduces the growth and spread of breast cancer. Black cohosh is supposed to stop the hot flushes associated with those who have breast cancer. Again, there is nothing to support either of these claims.

Years ago breast cancer was pretty much a death sentence. Today with the effective and relatively safe treatments that have been developed a woman can not only survive breast cancer but also have a normal healthy life afterwards.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Breast Cancer