Breast Cancer Treatment

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It is not necessary that all lumps in the breast would turn out to be cancerous. Regardless of this, the best course of action is to consult a doctor. The medical procedure is proceeded by three methods.

• Surgery: This helps in removing the abnormally grown cells as much as possible. This process is helpful for finding whether cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm. In addition, cancer treatment also helps to restructure the shape of it.

• Radiation therapy: It is a diagnostic method used to kill abnormally grown cells through high-energy rays. Only the affected part of the body gets exposure to the radiation.

• Chemotherapy: It is yet another breast cancer treatment which uses anti-cancer medicines that can either be intravenous or oral. Such a treatment may occasionally require additional chemotherapy.

To better understand the process of breast cancer treatment, it is important to look at the types of the disease. Mainly because breast cancer cannot be classified as a single disease. On the contrary, multiple studies reveal that there are more than a handful subtypes of this disease. Dependent on the person affected, each of these subtypes responds differently to various breast cancer treatment.

Stage 0

Stage 0 occurs when abnormal cells develop in the lining of the breast milk duct. In stage 0 the abnormal cells do not spread outside of the duct and into the surrounding breast tissue. This makes the diagnosis at stage 0 easy and extremely effective. However, if the patient does not go through with the stage 0 diagnosis then it can spread outside the duct.

Stage 1 

The stage 1 breast cancer while evident, is restricted to the area of its origin. In stage 1, the size of the malignant tumors are relatively small and can easily be treated. In addition, depending on the size and amount of cells, stage 1 branches out into stage 1A and stage 1B.

• Stage 1A: In this stage, the cancerous tumor is the size of a peanut (approximately 2 cms or smaller) and more importantly, it has not spread to the lymph nodes.

• Stage 1B: In this stage, there is evidence of cancerous lymph nodes. Also, the size of the cells are similar to the approximate size of a pinprick and have the approximate width of a grain of rice.

As is the case with any complex medical procedure, there are certain complications and risks involved with breast cancer treatment. As a result of which, many would recommend seeking a second opinion or even a third before getting surgery. If the cancer is at a stage in which is treatable with medicine, then getting surgery should be the last resort. Here are some of the complications and risks involved with the procedure:

• Loss of appetite: This medical procedure may lead to the loss of appetite, which makes it hard to get the right amount of nutrition.
• Nausea and vomiting: Some of the breast cancer treatments can also cause nausea and vomiting. It can either happen right after receiving the treatment or within a couple of days’ time. Some medications can help deal with nausea.
• Weakness and fatigue: The treatments can make a patient feel exhausted and tired. Coupled with the lack of desire to eat, the treatments really affects the patient’s health.
• Mouth sores: Exposure to radiation in the diagnosis can make the mouth or throat sore. This condition is again treatable with medications. `

Unless the patient feels any major symptom, it gets difficult to decide whether its cancer or some other disease. If it would be a cancerous problem, you will simply be referred to an oncologist. Given below are some of the symptoms, have a look.

• Swelling in the breast.
• Skin Irritation near nipples.
• Nipple Pain
• Nipple Discharge - Other than Milk