Female Breast Cancer Health Center

Surgery

Surgery is the most common treatment for breast cancer. Your doctor can explain each type, discuss and compare the benefits and risks and describe how each will change the way you look.

  • Breast-sparing surgery. This is an operation to remove the cancer but not the entire breast. It's also called breast-conserving surgery, lumpectomy or a segmental or partial mastectomy. Sometimes an excisional biopsy is the only surgery a woman needs because the surgeon removed the whole lump during that procedure.
  • Mastectomy. This operation removes the entire breast (or as much of the breast tissue as possible). In some cases, a skin-sparing mastectomy may be an option. For this approach, the surgeon removes as little skin as possible.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays to kill cancer cells. It affects cells only in the part of the body that is treated.

Radiation therapy may be used after surgery to destroy breast cancer cells that remain in the chest area. Women usually have radiation therapy after breast-sparing surgery, but it's sometimes used after mastectomy too.

Side effects depend mainly on the type of radiation and how much is given. Ask your health care team to describe what you can expect.

Hormone Therapy

Hormone therapy can also be called anti-hormone treatment. If lab tests show that your breast cancer cells have hormone receptors, then hormone therapy may be an option. (See the part about Lab Tests with Breast Tissue.) Hormone therapy keeps the cancer cells from getting or using the natural hormones (estrogen and progesterone) they need to grow.

If you have not gone through menopause, the options for hormone therapy include…

  • a drug that blocks estrogen's activity in the body (tamoxifen)
  • surgery to remove your ovaries (which make estrogen)
  • a drug that reduces the amount of estrogen made by the ovaries (LH-RH agonist)

If you have gone through menopause, the options include…

  • a drug that prevents the body from making estrogen (aromatase inhibitor)
  • tamoxifen

The side effects of hormone therapy depend on the type used. The most common side effects are hot flashes, vaginal discharge, and nausea.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. It may be given to women with Stage I, II, III, or IV breast cancer. Chemotherapy may be given before or after surgery.

The drugs for breast cancer are usually given directly into a vein (intravenously) through a thin needle or as a pill. You may receive a combination of drugs.

You may receive chemotherapy in a clinic, at the doctor's office, or at home. It's unusual for a woman to need to stay in the hospital during treatment.

Targeted Therapy

Women whose lab tests show that their breast cancer cells have too much HER2 protein may receive targeted therapy. The targeted therapies used to treat breast cancer block cancer cell growth by blocking the action of the extra HER2 protein.

These drugs may be given intravenously or as a pill. The side effects depend mainly on which drug is given. Possible side effects include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The drugs may also cause heart damage, heart failure, and serious breathing problems. During treatment, your doctor will watch for signs of heart and lung problems.

Review Date: 
March 22, 2012
Last Updated:
July 1, 2013
Source:
dailyrx.com