How is breast Cancer treated?

Types of Breast Cancer

There are various types of breast cancer. Let’s look at some variants.

• Angiosarcoma

Uncontrolled cell growth in the blood vessels of the breast.

• Ductal Carcinoma in situ

Abnormal cell growth in milk ducts of the breast.

• Invasive lobular carcinoma

Cancer in milk glands of the breast.

• Inflammatory breast cancer

Here, the lymphatic vessels on the breast’s skin are blocked by cancerous cells, causing redness, swelling, and pain.

• Recurrent breast cancer

Cancer that keeps coming back even after treatment.

• Male breast cancer

This is a rare condition that usually occurs in men over 50 years of age.

Symptoms of breast cancer

• Hard lumps and/or pain in the breast

• Suddenly inverted nipple

• Peeling, flaking, or scaling of the areola

• Pits, dimples, or redness on the skin of the breast

• Change in the shape and size of the breast

ALSO READ - How to Detect Breast Cancer - Symptoms and Diagnosis

How to treat breast cancer?

Breast cancer treatments depend upon the stage and grade of breast cancer a person is diagnosed with, the individual’s age, other existing medical conditions, and whether the cancer was detected early or late.

Treatment requires several doctors specialising in different areas of cancer treatment. Together, they create a comprehensive plan that will be a combination of various types of treatment. This team of doctors includes surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, radiologists, and pathologists.

Common Types of Cancer Treatments

The types of breast cancer treatments are:

Surgery

This includes an operation to remove the tumour and the tissue surrounding it by a surgical oncologist. A lumpectomy means the mass and its surrounding tissue are removed surgically. A mastectomy implies the entire breast is surgically removed. The axial lymph nodes are also thoroughly examined during surgery to check for signs of cancerous cells.

Radiation Therapy

A radiation oncologist does the therapy by using high-energy X-rays or other radiation to destroy cancer cells. The oncologist uses an external beam radiation machine to beam X-rays over the cancerous body part. Radiation therapy may be of various types, such as whole breast irradiation, partial breast irradiation, intraoperative radiation, or brachytherapy.

Chemotherapy

Here, the treatment involves administration of drugs or medicines to a patient intravenously to destroy cancer cells. The drugs prevent cancer cells from multiplying and growing further. However, chemotherapy does not target only the cancerous cells. It may also damage healthy cells. Hence, it causes side effects like hair loss, fatigue, nausea, and vomiting. Chemotherapy may be given in combination with surgery or radiation therapy.

Immunotherapy

Doctors use substances, either created in a lab or by our bodies, to enhance our immune system and amplify the body’s immune response; this enables the immune cells to seek and destroy cancer cells. Immunotherapy may cause side effects like rashes, diarrhoea, weight loss, and mild fever.

Hormonal Therapy

Hormonal or endocrinal therapy works on tumours that contain progesterone or oestrogen receptors.

Targeted Therapy

This is where the treatment targets specific proteins or genes of the cancerous cells responsible for tumour’s growth. It kills the cancer cells while also limiting damage to healthy tissues. The medicine may be given as an intravenous or subcutaneous injection every one to three weeks for up to a year.

Systemic Therapy

Also called Neoadjuvant Systemic Therapy, this treatment is given just before surgery to shrink the cancerous growth and reduce the chances of recurrence. Systemic therapy may be in the form of chemotherapy, immunotherapy, hormonal, or targeted therapy.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Therapy (CAM)

If you are thinking about how to treat breast cancer, consider supplementing traditional medicine with CAM or Complementary and Alternative Medicinal therapies. CAM therapies can help relieve pain and side effects of treatments like chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Also, CAM treatments can improve the quality of your life. Some examples include the following-

Mind-Body Therapies

These include meditation, hypnosis, biofeedback, imagery, Tai Chi, etc. These therapies target your body and mind using creative and meditative techniques that improve the quality of your life.

Biologically based Therapy

Healthy eating, special foods or diets, vitamins, dietary and antioxidant supplements, and botanicals comprise the basis of this treatment procedure. Dietary supplements like antioxidants and vitamins reduce cancer-causing free radicals in your body and boost your immune response. Botanicals like turmeric, cinnamon, etc., help fight cancer.

Alternative Medicine

Ayurvedic medicines, acupuncture, and acupressure can help manage symptoms and relieve the pain of chemotherapy, hormonal, and immunotherapy.

Healing Techniques

These include therapies like Reiki, comprising therapeutic touch. When done with a trained practitioner, these have helped people reduce anxiety and manage pain.

Manipulative and Body-based Therapies

Massage therapy, chiropractic therapy, and reflexology help relieve stress and pain.

Which Treatment Is Right for Me?

If you are considering going for CAM treatments, make sure you speak to your physician and come up with a comprehensive treatment plan based on what works best. Research has shown that CAM treatments can reduce anxiety, relieve pain, improve coping strategies, and reduce vomiting and nausea.

When it comes to the breast cancer treatment using traditional medicine, your oncologist will design the treatment plan based on type and stage of cancer, and pre-existing health conditions. You could also get a second opinion from other oncologists to decide which treatment is right for you.