Breast cancer has numerous different treatment methods. It is one of the reasons why people should be aware of the sequence in which treatment for breast cancer proceeds. Hence, when a woman suffers from this issue, the first thing question she should ask the doctor is the treatment order for overcoming breast cancer.
Generally, the treatment sequence starts with surgery and move onto different types of therapies. However, most doctors would suggest opting for surgery rather than therapies due to the sideeffects the latter might have. Moreover, if you grow breast naturally, then surgery is your best option due to the procedure it follows.
Order of treatment for breast cancer
The order of treatment follows:
- Surgery
- Chemotherapy
- Radiation therapy
- Hormonal therapy
Have a look at these in detail!
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Surgery for removing lumps
The surgery is applicableif the cancer is at the first stage. Mastectomy is the name of the surgery that is performed to remove the breast that consists of breast tissues as well as certain other tissues nearby. Women sometimes do even require getting a double mastectomy, where both breasts are removed.
This treatment for Breast Cancer is done to remove as many cancer cells as possible to stop it from spreading. However, listen to what your doctor has to say as depending on one’s medical history and other aspects, surgery is suggested. Apart from mastectomy, one’s doctor can suggest breast-conserving surgery also depending on the stage of cancer and other factors.
Unlike mastectomy, where the entire breast is removed, only the portion that contains the cancer is cut and removed in breast-conserving surgery. Here, the amount of breast that will be removed depends on how much the tumor has spread and requires removing.
However, this surgery is one of the causes of small breast size, and thus, doctors tell patients to opt for reconstructive surgery after successful treatment. It depends on the patient whether they want to opt for it.
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Chemotherapy
This is one of the major treatments that women need to go through to get well. It is sometimes given to a patient before or after surgery. This therapy means consuming powerful drugs that would help in destroying the cancer cells.
These powerful medicines aid in keeping cancer cells from developing and dividing, which would eventually lead to more of such cells. Cancer cells are known to develop and dived quicker than regular cells in a body, and thus, chemotherapy assists in targeting and affecting them faster.
There are different types of chemotherapy available, and the doctor would suggest the one which would be more suitable for a woman. The type chosen for treatment will also depend on a few particular factors like the spread of cancer cells, medical history, etc.
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Radiation therapy
This treatment for Breast Cancer is used for early stages or when it starts to spread. This treatment is performed using intense energy beams that kill cancer cells. Mostly X-rays are used for radiation therapy, but doctors can opt for protons or any other energy types for the process.
During the therapy, powerful energy beams shoot out of a machine and land on the breast area. This therapy damages cancer cells by attacking genetic material, which controls cancer cells’ growth and spreads it by dividing them. Though even normal cells get affected, it repairs damage quickly.
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Hormonal therapy
If cancer happens to be hormone receptor-positive, then hormonal therapy is a must. It is usually given after other therapies are applied. It can be started even before surgery if required it can go on for years, primarily 5 years.
This treatment for Breast Cancergenerally includes aromatase inhibitor, tamoxifen, etc., to cure a woman of breast cancer. This is used forcuring and reducing the risk of breast cancer recurrence among women who were treated for breast cancer’s early stage. As mentioned earlier, 5 years of treatment is minimum but can go as long as 10 years too.
These are the treatment order for breast cancer. However, doctors often use one therapy combined with another to cure a woman and eliminatethe risk of cancer recurrence. Thus, you need to consult your doctor before opting for any therapies as they can help you best.
