What treatment does a woman with early breast cancer need?
If they've caught it early and the woman just has several small lumps in one breast, what would be the typical procedure? Do they have surgery and then straight into chemo and radiotherapy? And how do chemo and radiotherapy work? How is it carried out? And what effect does it have on the body?
Cancer - 2 Answers
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1 :
It depends. First they will do a biopsy, and give the cancer a stage. Then they will suggest a Lumpectomy/or better known as a Partial Masectomy. The day of your surgery they will test the lymph nodes with a Sentinal Node Biopsy, and will also give you a wire localization. A week after your surgery they will let you know if it had spread to your lymph nodes. The stage at this time may change. If you are a stage 1, (Which I was) after your lumpectomy heals, they will send you for 6 weeks of Radiation therapy (This is very simple. 1 minute a day, 5 days a week) Side effects are minimal.(It is just like getting an xray. Should it be higher than a stage 1 and your lymph nodes are involved then they will reccomend chemo, which is a bit harder on your body. Side effects are different depending on the medication they will give you. I was a Stage 1, with no Lymph Node Involvement, so never had to have Chemo. My Father had Stage 3 Breast Cancer, and had to have both Radiation and Chemo.....The side effects from his chemo were Hair Loss, Vomiting, Weakness, tiredness...etc. (That was 14 years ago) He is now alive and well, and just turned 70 years old. Your Oncologist and Radiation Oncologist will guide you every step of the way as well as answer any and all questions you have. Take a list...write everything down.
2 :
My mother went through breast cancer. Usually they will do surgery to remove it (maybe even a mastectomy to be extra careful). They usually also remove the lymph nodes on the side where the cancer was located. Next is chemo and radiation. DO NOT skip out on the chemo, it is just temporary hair loss and feeling sick, but it will go away. Although it kills your good cells it will kill the bad cancer cells! After all of that they might put you on Tamoxifen because that reduces the chance of it returning. You take Tamoxifen daily for 5 years. My mother went through all of the above except she did not take Tamoxifen and 7 years later it came back in the bone (pretty rare to come back that late). But she wishes that she took Tamoxifen also. Keep in mind that breast cancer is has a really positive prognosis if caught in the beginning! Especially if you are in relative good health and are young!
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Title : What treatment does a woman with early breast cancer need
Description : What treatment does a woman with early breast cancer need? If they've caught it early and the woman just has several small lumps in o...