What is Breast Cancer: Treatment and Management

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the U.s. after skin cancer. Breast cancer can occur in both men and women, but it is far more frequent in women.

Substantial support for breast cancer prevention and research funding has helped make progress in diagnosing and treating breast cancer. Breast cancer survival rates have increased day by day. The number of deaths associated with the disease is slowly decreasing due to: 

• Early diagnosis, 
• A new, personalized approach to treatment, 
• And an increased understanding of the disease.

What is breast cancer?

Breast cancer is a condition in which the growth of breast cells is beyond control. There are different types of breast cancer. The type of breast cancer depends on which breast cells transform into cancer.

Breast cancer may start in different parts of the breast. The breast consists of three main parts: 

• The lobules: These are the glands that create milk
• Ducts: These are tubes which carry the milk to the nipple. 
• The connective tissue: It covers and holds everything together. 

The majority of breast cancers begin in the ducts or lobules. Breast cancer can spread outside the breast via the blood vessels and lymph vessels. When breast cancer spreads to other areas of the body, it is said that it has metastasized.

Symptoms of breast cancer

Symptoms and signs of breast cancer can include the following:

• A lump or thickening of the breast that looks different from the underlying tissue
• Change in the size, form, or appearance of the breast
• Skin changes over the breast, such as dimpling
• Newly inverted nipples
• The redness or the pitting of the skin over the breast, like the skin of the orange

Risk factors

A risk factor for breast cancer is something that makes you more likely to have breast cancer. Many women who grow breast cancer have no known risk factors other than simply being female.

Risk factors for breast cancer may include:

• Being a woman. Women are much more likely than men to develop breast cancer.
• Increasing age. Your chance of breast cancer rises with your age.
• Personal experience of cancer of the breast. When you have breast cancer in one breast, you have a greater chance of getting cancer in the other breast.
• A family history of breast cancer. If your mother, sister, or daughter has been diagnosed with breast cancer, particularly at a young age, your risk of breast cancer is increased. Even the majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of breast cancer.
• Begin your period at a younger age. Starting your period before 12 years of age increases your chance of breast cancer.
• Start your menopause at an older age. If you began menopause at an older age, you are more likely to develop breast cancer.
• Deliver your first child at an older age. Women who give birth to their first child after 30 years of age may have an increased chance of breast cancer.

Treatment and management

Your doctor will decide the treatment options for breast cancer depending on the type of breast cancer, its stage and grade, size, and whether the cancer cells are hormone-sensitive. Your doctor will also understand your overall health and preferences.

1. Surgery of breast cancer

In most patients, surgery is part of the treatment process. There are 2 major types of breast cancer surgery:

• Breast-preservation surgery to remove the cancerous lump (tumour)
• Mastectomy, where the whole breast is cut

In certain cases, mastectomy can be followed by reconstructive surgery to try to recreate the breast.

Complications in breast cancer surgery depend on the treatments that you chose. Breast cancer surgery carries a risk of pain, bleeding, inflammation, and swelling of the arms (lymphedema).

Try speaking to a plastic surgeon before breast cancer surgery. These operations can be done at the time of your mastectomy or at a later date.

2. Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy uses a controlled dosage of radiation to kill cancer cells. It is usually given after surgery and chemotherapy to kill any remaining cancer cells.

If you require radiotherapy, the treatment will begin around a month after surgery or chemotherapy to give your body a chance to recover.

You’ll probably have radiotherapy sessions 3 to 5 days a week, 3 to 5 times. Each session will last for a few minutes.

Side effects of radiation therapy include:

• Irritation and darkening of the skin on your breast, which can lead to sore, red, weeping skin.
• Extreme exhaustion (fatigue).

3. Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses drugs to destroy rapidly growing cells, such as cancer cells. Suppose the cancer is at high risk of returning or spreading to another part of the body. In that case, your doctor may prescribe chemotherapy after surgery to reduce the chance that cancer will recur. Chemotherapy is also used in women whose cancer has spread to other areas of the body.

The side effects of chemotherapy depend on the drugs you get. Common side effects include hair loss, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and elevated risk of infection.

4. Hormone therapy

Hormone therapy—may be best referred to as hormone-blocking therapy—is used to treat hormone-sensitive breast cancers. Doctors refer to these tumours as positive estrogen receptor (ER-positive) and positive progesterone receptor (PR-positive) cancer.

Hormone therapy may be used before or after surgery or other treatments to reduce cancer risk. If cancer has spread, hormone therapy can shrink and control it.

Hormone therapy side effects depend on your specific procedure and include hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness. More severe side effects include a chance of bone thinning and blood clots.

5. Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is used by the immune system to combat cancer. Your body’s disease-fighting immune system does not attack cancer because cancer cells produce proteins that bind the cells of the immune system. Immunotherapy works by manipulating the process.

6. Targeted therapies

Targeted therapies are drugs that change the way cells work to help stop cancer from developing and spreading. Not all cases of breast cancer can be treated with targeted therapy.

A drip gives some of the targeted therapies into a vein. Others are arriving as tablets.

7. Complementary therapy

Complementary treatments are therapies that can help improve physical and mental well-being.

They are performed alongside conventional treatments, which include:

• Breathing exercises for tension
• Massage
• Aromatherapy;
• Acupuncture:

Complementary treatments can help some women deal with their diagnosis and treatment and include a break from their daily treatment schedule.

Prevention 

Changing your everyday routine will help reduce your risk of breast cancer. Try to do this:

• Ask the doctor for screening for breast cancer.
• Become familiar with your breasts by breast self-examination for breast awareness.
• Limit the amount of alcohol you drink to no more than one drink a day if you want to drink.
• Target at least 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week.
• Limit postmenopausal hormonal treatment.
• Keep your weight healthy.
• Choose a balanced diet.

The Bottom Line

Choosing the appropriate treatment for you can be difficult. Speak to the cancer specialist about the treatment choices for your type and stage of cancer. Your doctor can describe the benefits and risks of every treatment and its side effects. Side effects are how the body responds to drugs or other therapies.