Breast Cancer Treatment

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1.In-situ – The cancerous cells restrict themselves to their place of origin and do not spread in other tissues.

2.Invasive – Cancer cells move to other parts of the body.

If your Breast Cancer is In-situ, there are still chances of it being cured with surgery but unfortunately in most cases, women are struck by Invasive Breast Cancer, which spreads to the rest of the body. This types of cancer if detected at a later stage, is very difficult to eradicate. Research and innovation on the treatment of Breast Cancer has been going on since a long time and now we have various treatments for Breast Cancer -

1.Surgery – This is the first and the most effective treatment for Breast Cancer. Surgery in short is the removal of the cancerous part of the Breast. The surgery is of two types -

Lupectomy - In this surgery, only the tumour and some of the surrounding tissues are removed. It is also known as the breast conserving surgery.

Masectomy – Masectomy is the removal of breast tissues. Masectomy has gone through a lot of innovations and unlike earlier, the surgery does not need to remove the muscles under the breast any longer.

2.Radiation – The Radiation therapy or the Radiotherapy, as it is called, destroys the cancer cells. Radiation therapy uses high energy beams, which damages the cancerous cell's DNA, which helps the cells to divide and spread. These high energy beams damage all the cells which comes in path of the beam but in the process the normal cells are also damaged. The Radiation process, both slow's and stop's the cells from multiplying. The Radiation therapy reduces the risk of Breast Cancer recurrence by about 70%.

Recently, a new procedure of Radiotherapy has been introduced called the intra-operative radiation therapy (IORT). This therapy aims at lessening the inverse effect of Radiotherapy on the other healthy breast cells.

intra-operative radiation therapy (IORT), works by inserting a spherical applicator, into the tumor through a incision made by surgery. This applicator passes a concentrated radio beam to the infected tumor and the surrounding 2cm deep area.

Michael Baum, a British cancer specialist says that (IORT) may turn out to be the one-shot treatment of Breast Cancer.

3.Chemotherapy – The Chemotherapy treatment for Breast Cancer is the best treatment for people suffering Invasive cancer. This treatment uses the process of using medicines to weaken and destroy the cancer cells. Chemotherapy not only works on cancer cells in it's place of origin but also on the cells that are spread across the body. Chemotherapy works on cancerous cells across the body by going trough the bloodstream.

Most of the time Chemotherapy is also used to shrink the cancer before surgery.

4.Hormonal Therapy - Hormonal therapy treatment of Breast Cancer, is done with the use of medicines which treat the hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers. This treatment lowers or blocks the action of hormonal estrogen on the Breast cancer cells.

Reducing or blocking the amount or action of estrogen can reduce the risk of of spread of Breast cancer cells and also check the growth of the cancerous cells.

5.Target Therapy - This treatment for Breast Cancer treats a specific characteristic of cancer cells, such as protein that helps the cancer cells to grow. Target therapies uses anti-bodies which work on the increase of immune system.

These are some of the basic treatments of Breast Cancer. With the advent of technology, treatment is now possible even at a advanced stage but it is advised to go for a check up even if you have the slightest doubt and spread the awareness of Breast Cancer.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.