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Breast Cancer Treatment

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy is a process that precisely sends high levels of radiation directly to the cancer cells. The process may be accomplished by external beam radiation - sending the radiation through the skin (an x-ray-like process), or by the temporary implantation of radioactive seeds into the cancerous tissue.

Radiation done after surgery, can kill small areas of cancer that may not be seen during surgery. Radiation may also be done prior to surgery to shrink the tumor, or as a palliative measure to relieve symptoms such as pain.

A radiation oncologist will plan your radiation treatment based on your medical history, physical exam, pathology and laboratory reports, and previous mammograms and surgeries. Your chest area will be marked with ink that must stay on your skin for the course of your treatments. These markings assure that the radiation will be given in the exact area.

Side effects of radiation therapy:
Possible side effects that may occur during or following radiation include:

• fatigue - especially during the later weeks of treatment.

• skin problems in the treated area, including soreness, itching, peeling, and/or redness. Toward the end of treatment, the skin may become moist and weepy.

• decreased sensation in the breast tissue.

In most cases, the effects of radiation on the skin are temporary and the skin involved in the treated area will heal after the completion of the treatments.

Oncologists carefully monitor the intensity and length of each treatment, and the area being treated. In addition, you will have regular physical exams during the course of your treatments.

Other Treatments

There are several other different types of treatment for breast cancer, for which we will provide a brief overview. These include:

• hormone therapy
  Hormone therapy is used to prevent the growth, spread, and recurrence of breast cancer. The female hormone estrogen can increase the growth of breast cancer cells in some women. A drug, such as tamoxifen, blocks the effects of estrogen on the growth of malignant cells in breast tissue. However, tamoxifen does not stop the production of estrogen. Hormone therapy may be considered for women whose breast cancers test positive for estrogen or progesterone receptors.

  Oophorectomy, surgery to remove the ovaries in women who have not gone through menopause, is a means of stopping the production of estrogen.

• adjuvant therapy
  Adjuvant therapy is therapy given after primary therapy - usually surgery to remove the cancer - to reduce the chance of the cancer spreading or recurring. The adjuvant therapy may be radiation, chemotherapy, or hormone therapy.

• biological therapy
  Biological therapy uses the body's own materials, or those made in a laboratory, to assist the body in fighting the cancer. It may also be called biological response modifier therapy, or immunotherapy.

  Biological therapy treatments are designed to repair, stimulate, or increase the body's natural ability to fight cancer.

• bone marrow transplant / autologous stem cell therapy
  High doses of chemotherapy or radiation are sometimes used to kill cancer cells, also killing healthy blood-forming stem cells. To combat this, stem cells taken earlier from the patient's bone marrow, or separated from the blood, are later returned to the patient to help restore the body's ability to fight infection.