The “Breast Cancer Treatment” |
| Posted: 29 Dec 2009 08:52 AM PST It was not so long ago that a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer faced a very limited range of treatment programs. That is no longer the case. Today there are many treatment possibilities and often a patient will have treatment from a number of programs. Many courses of treatment have proved to be greatly beneficial and as tough as the disease might be, there is much to be excited about as regards recovery. Once your diagnosis has been made, the next step is to plan your treatment with your doctor and any other specialist who may be involved. Remember that one size fits all does not apply and as every patient is unique so is their course of treatment. Surgery is a common form of treatment but it will require plenty of discussion beforehand. You will feel better knowing why surgery is recommended and then the various steps which are to be taken, any risks involved and what your expected outcome will be. It is highly recommended that you, the patient, should be willing and able to ask questions about your treatment. For instance if surgery is recommended you could ask such questions as: • What are the different types of surgery and why is one recommended?
Chemical therapy or chemotherapy or chemo as it is commonly known, is a medicine which enters your bloodstream and aims to attack the cancer cells in your body. Chemo may occur before surgery to weaken cancer cells and it is often given after surgery to remove any cells which are still in the body and to assist the body in fighting off any cancer cells forming in the future. There are different medicines used in chemo and your doctor can explain which is best suited to your condition. Another common form of treatment uses radiation therapy or radiotherapy which is relatively painless but has a high rate of success. Radiotherapy uses a powerful beam, which is invisible to the naked eye, to attack the DNA of cancer cells and is effective in preventing cancerous cells spreading or multiplying. It's true that radiotherapy damages both good and cancerous cells but the damage to the bad cells is much greater. Some treatments may involve hyperthermia which uses microwaves to heat the cells. Cancerous cells with a raised temperature may be easier to attack with radiotherapy. These methods and others are sometimes tried and tested or perhaps more in the trial stage but whatever your diagnosis, there are several options for every patient as the treatment and follow-up work for breast cancer patients continues to improve. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.  |
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