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Breast Cancer Treatment Choices

Treatment Choices

Women with breast cancer now have many treatment options. Many women want to learn all they can about the disease and their treatment choices so that they can take an active part in decisions about their medical care. They are likely to have many questions and concerns about their treatment options.

The doctor is the best person to answer questions about breast cancer treatments for a particular patient: what her treatment choices are and how successful her treatment is expected to be. Most patients also want to know how they will look after treatment and whether they will have to change their normal activities. A woman should not feel that she needs to ask all her questions or understand all the answers at once. She will have many chances to ask the doctor to explain things that are not clear and to ask for more information.

A woman may want to talk with her doctor about taking part in a clinical trial, a research study of new methods in breast cancer treatments. Clinical trials are an important option for women with all stages of breast cancer The "Research on Staging and Treatment" part of "The Promise of Cancer Research" section has more information.

Treatment options for women are influenced by a variety of variables. Age and menopausal status, general health, size and location of the tumor, stage of the disease, findings from lab tests, and size of the breast are some of these factors. Additionally, some characteristics of the tumor cells are taken into account, such as whether they require hormones to develop. The stage of the disease is typically the most crucial component. The size of the tumor and whether the breast cancer has spread determine the stage.

• Stage 0 is sometimes called noninvasive carcinoma or carcinoma in situ.
• Lobular carcinoma in situ LCIS) refers to abnormal cells in the lining of a lobule. These abnormal cells seldom become invasive cancer. However, their presence is a sign that a woman has an increased risk of developing breast cancer . Both breasts have an elevated cancer risk. Tamoxifen is a medication that certain LCIS patients may use to lower their risk of breast cancer . Others might participate in research projects examining additional intriguing brand-new preventive measures. Some women may opt not to receive treatment in favor of routine checks with the doctor instead. And, occasionally, women with LCIS may decide to have surgery to remove both breasts to try to prevent cancer from developing. (In most cases, removal of underarm lymph nodes is not necessary.)
• Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) refers to abnormal cells in the lining of a duct. DCIS is also called intraductal carcinoma. The abnormal cells have not spread beyond the duct to invade the surrounding breast tissue. However, women with DCIS are at an increased risk of getting invasive breast cancer . Some women with DCIS have breast-sparing surgery followed by radiation therapy. Or they may choose to have a mastectomy, with or without breast reconstruction (plastic surgery) to rebuild the breast. Underarm lymph nodes are not usually removed. Also, Tamoxifen may be prescribed to women with DCIS to lower their chance of developing invasive. breast cancer .

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