Physicians Health

Presently there are various treatment methods against breast cancer. These varieties of treatment are thanks to scientific boom of recent years. Some of them include surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. These are widely-used methods for breast cancer treatment and prevention. Firstly, consult with a breast specialist to find out which method will be the best option for you.

Breast cancer surgery

There are four types of operations for treating breast cancer:

• Removal of the breast cancer (lumpectomy)

During lumpectomy the tumor and the small margin of surrounding healthy tissue are removed. This method is used for removing small tumors.

• Removal of the entire breast (mastectomy)

This method is used when the tumor is too large. In a simple mastectomy only breast tissue is removed. Another type of mastectomy is the modified radical mastectomy, where the entire breast and the lymph nodes are removed.

• Removal of a lymph node

If breast cancer spreads to the lymph node, it can easily spread through elsewhere. So your surgeon will determine which lymph node (mostly the nearest to the breast tumor) is receiving lymph drainage from cancer. The lymph node will be removed and taken for examination. If no cancer is found, then there won’t be any further necessity to test other nodes, since there is very little possibility that cancer will be found in them. It’s also called sentinel node biopsy.

• Removal of several lymph nodes

If your surgeon finds cancer in your sentinel node, then he removes several other lymph nodes under your armpit. The determination of whether cancer has spread to other lymph nodes usually helps decide which method of treatment will be the best one.

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy is the use of rays to kill the cancerous cells. This method can reduce the risk of tumor recurrence by 50-66 percent when it is delivered in correct dose.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of chemicals (cancer drugs) to retrench or eliminate cancer.

Complication of surgery depends on the type of method you choose.

Photo © kira_westland

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