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:
Q. I was diagnosed with DCIS, and have had a lumpectomy and radiation. Now my oncologist says I’ll be doing hormone therapy. I thought... Read more »
Breast Cancer News Editor's Note: Science and health news outlet EurekAlert! published yesterday an interesting summary of a Lancet study ... Read more »
Q. I was diagnosed with ER-receptive breast cancer and have had a lumpectomy and radiation. Now my oncologist has prescribed tamoxifen. I... Read more »
Breast cancer occurs when the DNA in a breast tissue cell is damaged, and the cell reproduces too rapidly. But what causes this DNA... Read more »
Reader Question: My mom is 75 and is recovering from a fractured wrist and arm. She has been taking Fosamax for about three months. Is... Read more »
Many survivors of breast cancer report having decreased sexual desire and drive. There are often several possible causes of diminished sex drive in... Read more »
A woman's hormone levels normally change throughout her life for a variety of reasons, and these hormonal changes can lead to changes in her breasts.... Read more »
Background Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is a relatively rare type of breast cancer grows in the lymph vessels of the skin of the breast. Because... Read more »
Q. What with all the side effects I had during chemotherapy, I really wasn’t in the mood for sex very often. And now that I’m done with chemo,... Read more »
Source: ADAM Encyclopedia
www.cancer.gov -- National Cancer Institutewww.cancer.org -- American Cancer Societywww.asco.org -- American Society of Clinical... Read more »