Breast cancer treatment

Once you are diagnosed with breast cancer, your oncologist will make a personalised treatment plan. Your beast cancer treatment is based on unique biological markers, the severity of symptoms, stage and size of cancer.

There are several ways to treat breast cancer. Most individuals receive a combination of these treatment options for a better prognosis.

Surgical removal of cancer cells is one of the most preferred and effective treatments for breast cancer. There are different types of breast cancer surgeries. Your surgeon will take into regard the extent of cancer and size of the tumour before recommending surgery. Common types include:

Lumpectomy – Lumpectomy is recommended for small tumours. In this surgery, the tumour and a small portion of healthy tissues are removed preserving the breasts.

Mastectomy – If the cancer cells have spread across the breast, your surgeon would recommend removing the entire breast as a treatment alternative. In a mastectomy, the surgeon removes all of the breast tissues.

Sentinel node biopsy – This surgery is performed to remove cancer cells that have spread to the lymph nodes.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells in the breast. Most patients receive chemotherapy after surgical removal of cancer. This reduces the chances of disease recurrence. In some cases, chemotherapy is also given before surgery to help shrink the size of the tumour for better outcomes.

Hormone therapy

If your breast cancer is sensitive to hormones, your breast cancer expert may recommend hormone therapy. Hormone therapy is a medicinal treatment in which certain drugs are used to block hormones from attaching to cancer cells. Hormone therapy is also offered in combination with other treatment options such as surgery to reduce the chances of cancer recurrence.

Immunotherapy

Your body’s immune system does not fight cancer cells as cancer produces certain proteins that blind the immune system. Immunotherapy is a medicinal treatment that interferes with the aforesaid process and boosts your immune system to fight cancer.

Targeted therapy

Targeted therapy is a drug treatment that targets certain abnormalities in cancer cells. This treatment option is also beneficial in reducing your risk of cancer recurrence when used in combination with surgery.