Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer worldwide. It most commonly originates from the inner lining of the milk ducts and lobules.Most of the patients are detected of cancer in the third or fourth stage of the disease. There are four stages in all. If the cancer is detected in the first or second stage it is curable but patients don’t report.
The main cause of it is ‘shame’. Methods for curing breast cancer are available if detected at the proper time.
Surgery: Doctors usually begin treatment of breast cancer by surgically removing the tumor. The decision for going into a surgery and the type of surgery depends upon factors like the stage of the cancer, the ‘personality’ of the cancer, and what is suitable for the patient in the long run. When the cancer is small, a lumpectomy can preserve the breast. In this operation, a surgeon removes the cancerous lump and a margin of the normal tissue surrounding it. The breast is then treated with
radiation to kill stray cancer cells. If the cancer is large, the entire breast must often be removed in a modified radical mastectomy.
Chemotherapy: Chemo, as it is normally known, is administered to kill the cancerous cells at the original site. The chemo medicines travel throughout the body and affect the entire body. It is administered to destroy cells that may have been left behind after surgery or at an advanced stage to destroy as many cells at possible. In some cases chemotherapy treatment is used to shrink the cancerous cells before surgery.
Radiation Therapy: Also known as radiotherapy is quite an effective way of destroying cells that may have been left behind after surgery. It can reduce the risk of recurrence by 70 percent and its side effects are limited to the treated area.
Hormonal Therapy: Hormonal therapy medicines work in two ways – they lower the amount of hormone estrogen in the body or block their action on breast cancer cells. These medicines are only effective on hormone receptor positive breast cancer cells.It should be noted here that hormonal therapy is NOT hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) and for women suffering from breast cancer HRT is considered to be unsafe.
Targeted Therapies: This therapy targets specific characteristics of cancer cells. Unlike chemotherapy targeted therapy is less likely to harm normal and healthy cells in the body. Some of these therapies resemble the antibodies produced by our body to fight diseases.
Complementary medicines: While the conventional medicines do their work complementary medicines can be administered to bring about a balance in the life of a patient. It can help relieve symptoms, fight side effects of medicines and improve the quality of a patient’s life. As the name suggests, it complements the conventional therapies.
Cancer treatment is far from perfect. It’s still a matter of “slash, burn, and poison” as Dr Love puts it. However, there have been breakthroughs in the medicine and treatment world and the scene is changing, although not very significant yet there is a change. For one, women are now more forthcoming and ready to report any abnormality they experience in their body. It may not be breast cancer in all the cases yet it is better to get oneself examined and treated. As someone had said, a woman’s best defense remains regular breast examining, mammograms and knowing all her options.
