BREAST CANCER: UNDERSTANDING TREATMENT OPTIONS
The treatment options available to you will depend on a number of factors, including the type of tumor, the extent of the disease at the time of diagnosis, your age and your medical history. However, your personal feelings about the treatment, your self-image,your family history and your lifestyle will also be important considerations in your doctor’s assessment and recommendations. You and your doctor should discuss these treatment methods and how they apply to your situation. Understanding all of your options from the beginning of your diagnosis allows you to have all of the information you need to make an informed and rational decision about your care.
Surgery is usually performed as the first step in the treatment of breast cancer. It is then followed by chemotherapy if indicated and then radiation therapy if it is needed. After these therapies, medicine you take by mouth may be prescribed to help prevent the cancer from returning by blocking the estrogen receptors on the cell surface.
IBC, inflammatory breast cancer, and locally advanced breast cancer, tumors that are too large for surgical removal initially will be treated by chemotherapy before surgery called neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. It is given first to shrink the tumor and treat the body (systemic treatment). The surgery and radiation therapy follow the completion of the chemotherapy.
Becoming educated and informed about your treatment is the best way to develop a plan of treatment. Breast conserving surgery followed by radiation therapy is considered equivalent to mastectomy (removal of the breast) to treat breast cancer. With both surgeries, the lymphnodes are evaluated using a technique called sentinel lymph node identification and biopsy. (potentially preserving the normal anatomy of the remaining lymph nodes and preventing lymph edema). This study involves injecting a combination of radioactive tracer and/ or a blue die. This allows your doctors to have the most information with the least disruption of your body.
