The three major treatments of breast cancer are surgery, radiation, and drug therapy. No one treatment fits every patient, and combination therapy is usually required. The choice is determined by many factors, including the age of the patient, menopausal status, the kind of cancer (ductal verses lobular), its stage, and whether or not the tumor contains hormone receptors.
Breast cancer treatments are defined as local or systemic:
From the San Antonio Breast Conference in December, new data shows a higher than predicted rate of breast cancer recurrence even with very... Read more »
Data presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium show that basically all women with HER2+ breast cancers benefit from adjuvant... Read more »
Our annual meeting is this weekend, so I hope to have some good news regarding breast cancer treatment in future posts. I also have a... Read more »
Something not to worry about: No Need to Rush Adjuvant Chemotherapy after Surgery We have always had uncertainty about how long one... Read more »
Both elderly patient and younger patients present special challenges for doctors. In the case of a younger patient there is a great deal of... Read more »
This is a study to determine if chemotherapy is effective in treating women who have undergone surgery and radiation for relapsed breast cancer. This... Read more »
Source: ADAM Encyclopedia
Breast Cancer Screening GuidelinesMost guidelines recommend annual mammograms for women starting at age 40. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force... Read more »
Source: ADAM Encyclopedia
ChemotherapyChemotherapy drugs are "cytotoxic" (cell-killing) drugs. They are given orally or by injection. They work systemically by killing cancer... Read more »
My technician recently told me, just before sending me gliding through an MRI tube, that MRI scans were once an uncommon breast exam. He performed... Read more »
Source: Medifocus Guidebook on: Breast Cancer
The treatment strategy for breast cancer depends on the stage of the disease and the goals of care for the individual. Treatment usually consists of... Read more »