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Breast Cancer Treatments
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Chemotherapy involves the administration of drugs that kill the
cancer cells or stop them from growing. Most chemotherapy
medications are given through an intravenous line, although some are
administered in pill form. Chemotherapy is a harsh regime which
often makes people feel more ill than the illness they are suffering
from, however it has been proved to be very effective.
Chemotherapy is usually administered in cycles where each cycle
consists of a period of intensive treatment which lasts for a few
days or weeks followed by a week of recovery. |
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Most patients with
breast cancer have two to four cycles of chemotherapy to start with before
tests are performed to see what effects it has had on the cancer.
Chemotherapy is
different to radiation as it can treat the whole body with the potential of
finding other tumor cells that have migrated from the breast and surrounding
area. Many people are familiar with chemotherapy’s side effects although the
side effects do depend upon which drugs are used to treat the patient.
The most common side
effects are loss of hair, loss of appetite, fatigue, vomiting and low blood
cell count making the patient more susceptible to infections, feeling sick
or tired. Many notice that they bleed more than usual, especially from gums
and small scrapes and sores etc.
There are three
different chemotherapy strategies are used in breast cancer:
Adjuvant
chemotherapy – this is given to patients who have undergone curative
treatment for breast cancer such as radiation or surgery. This treatment is
given to decrease the possibility of the breast cancer returning.
Pre-surgical chemotherapy – this is given to shrink a large tumor and/or to
kill any stray cancerous cells. This will also increase the chance that the
surgery will kill the cancer completely.
· Regular
chemotherapy – this is given routinely to people who have breast cancer that
has spread beyond the breast or the surrounding local area.
Hormonal therapy may
also be given as many breast cancers such as those that have ample estrogen
or progesterone receptors are sensitive to changes in hormones.
In some breast cancer
cases, a woman’s natural hormones are suppressed with drugs whereas other
patients find benefits by adding hormones. Tamoxifen for instance is
currently the most commonly prescribed effective hormone treatment. It can
be used for treating breast cancer and also in the prevention of breast
cancer. Tamoxifen has few side effects and can considerably improve the life
span of those women who have advanced cases of breast cancer.
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A further treatment, Fulvestrant has recently been approved in the
USA. It is planned that it will be used for treating hormone
receptor positive metastastic breast cancer in women who have been
through the menopause. It is given following antiestrogen therapy.
Another treatment known as monoclonal is antibodies that are
antagonistic against the proteins which are in or around cancer
cells. They recognise an invader such as a cancer cell and attack
it. This antibody therapy is currently being investigated and holds
out a lot of hope for breast cancer sufferers. |
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