Radiation Treatment Options In Breast Cancer
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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.
0 - The Earliest 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
Most women will try all treatments before choosing breast removal if there are any other options. A mastectomy is performed when the cancer is too far progressed, or it is spreading to the lymph nodes.
A woman can and often does choose to try chemotherapy for a while before surgery. If the tumor shrinks, she may only have to have the lump removed rather than have a mastectomy.
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.
The Last Stage of Cancer
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.
While women are the majority when it comes to having breast cancer, a small percentage of men have been known to get it as well. The treatment is much the same for them.
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