Article: Breast Cancer Treatment
What is breast cancer?
Breast cancer occurs when a cancerous tumour grows in the breast tissue. Scientific research is helping to discover an effective treatment for breast cancer.
There is no one cause of cancer. Commonly occurring in women, risk factors include age, heredity, diet, alcohol consumption, hormone levels, tobacco and exposure to radiation.
Treatment options vary depending upon the condition of the patient and the cancer. The tumour can be benign, a single lump, or malignant, metastasising or spreading to other areas of the body.
The main treatments for breast cancer patients are lumpectomy or mastectomy followed by a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
There are some alternative treatments available to patients, including herbal and holistic treatments. Few of these treatments have been scientifically proven to improve breast cancer survival rates. You should always consult your doctor before using alternative medicines. Emotional support is an invaluable factor in breast cancer treatment.
How is breast cancer treated?
Treatment involves removing the cancer and managing the risk of recurrence. Each patient has different conditions and may have a different course of treatment.
Surgery is often the first step in treating breast cancer. The surgical removal of a breast cancer is called a lumpectomy. The lump and any affected breast tissue are removed. Since there is a link between breast cancer and lymph nodes, the lymph nodes in the armpit area can also be removed during surgery.
When the tumour is particularly large or at risk of spreading, a mastectomy, the removal of the entire breast, is performed.
Once the cancer has been completely removed, the risk of relapse must be managed through further therapy. The most common treatments are chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Chemotherapy helps reduce the size of the tumour before surgery or the risk of the cancer cells returning after surgery. Chemotherapy drugs are delivered into the patient’s blood stream intravenously, to target the affected area quickly and efficiently. Since these drugs are potent, only small dosages are administered.
The side effects are quite strong, depending upon the condition of the patient and include nausea, diarrhoea, exhaustion, malnutrition, anaemia and memory loss.
Radiation therapy occurs when strong x-rays are used to destroy cancer cells that might grow in the area where the tumour was removed. The x-rays work at a microscopic level over a period of five to seven weeks. Normal healthy cells can repair themselves while cancer cells are destroyed.
There are some side-effects to radiation therapy, but these have decreased as medical science advances. A patient can experience fatigue, changes in the colour and texture of the skin, muscle stiffness and tenderness.
Are there alternative therapies?
There are some alternative breast cancer therapies using a herbal or holistic approach. Traditional Chinese medicine has claimed to cure breast cancer patients, but there have been no successful clinical trials.
If you are interested in alternative therapies, you should consult your doctor. Be aware of the conventional therapies available to you and how alternative treatment might affect your medication and chances of survival.
Emotional support and strength is an important factor in the survival of breast cancer patients. In addition to surgery and therapy, a positive, optimistic and determined outlook can help you overcome your breast cancer.