Treatments for breast cancer include hormone therapy, lumpectomy, radiation, chemotherapy, mastectomy and lymph node removal. Exactly what is done is determined by the stage of breast cancer that is diagnosed.
The Beginning Stage
At stage 0, a blockage is found in the mammary or the ducts in the mammary. The first type, lobular carcinoma, is not yet deadly and usually the doctor will keep an eye on it by having the patient come in for frequent visits. Even with early cancer, the very fact that a tumor has formed in one breast makes the risk for cancer in the other much higher. Recently, many women have found it more acceptable to have a double mastectomy than to wait and find out if they will have cancer in the other breast and how far it will go. Ductal carcinoma is usually removed and the surgery is followed with other forms of treatment. Breast removal is an option with ductal carcinoma, too.
Stages II through IV
In these stages, women are often treated with chemo, radiation and hormones before surgery is attempted. If the cancer is larger and is spreading quickly, a mastectomy is done followed with the removal of the lymph nodes in the axillary area. Radiation, chemotherapy and hormone therapies are used after this major surgery.
Chemotherapy is often given before a woman has surgery to see if the tumor will shrink. If it does, there is a better chance that she will not have to have her entire breast taken off.
After a lumpectomy or a mastectomy, radiation therapy is most often undergone to kill any remaining cancer and increase a woman’s chance of survival.
If the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, full mastectomies and lymph tissue removal is performed.
Breast Cancer Stage 4
This stage is considered the inoperable stage. At this stage, the cancer cannot be removed by surgery and the non-invasive treatments will only prolong a person’s life, not cure her. Still, many women choose to go through chemotherapy, radiation and hormone therapies in order to live as long as possible. Sometimes a woman feels like the treatments are making her more miserable than the cancer itself. She may then ask for supportive care. Supportive care offers other kinds of treatments that make a woman more comfortable in her last few months of life. Quality of life is the ultimate goal with supportive care.
Reoccurrences of cancer do happen sometimes. If a woman is prepared and catches on very quickly, there is still a chance she will survive. If the cancer was “hiding” in the lymph nodes or elsewhere in the body, it is probably in its last stages. Supportive care is usually the best way to treat this stage of cancer.
Women are not the only ones who may develop breast cancer. Men are known to get it as well. It is a rare occurrence, but it does happen. When it does, their treatment options are the same as for breast cancer in women.
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