Top 9 Way To Treatment Breast Cancer | Breast Cancer

What is breast cancer?

The breast is a gland comprised of breast tissue itself (which is formed by lobes) and support a called connective tissue and fat. Milk is produced in the lobules of the breast tissue and ducts driven to its exit from the nipple.

The breast cancer is a malignant tumor that develops in the breast tissue (although there may be tumors in the supporting tissues, but are not true breast cancers). If the tumor is contained in the lobes and ducts, it is called "in situ" or non - invasive. If tumor cells run off ducts and lobules, the tumor is invasive.

Cancer treatment, specifically the breast, in Spain is exemplary and its evolution is constant. In this article, not intended to be exhaustive approach of the most recent and sophisticated techniques, we explain the most common treatments.

1. Surgical treatment

It may be a removal of the tumor along with a small amount of surrounding tissue of normal appearance (thus preserving almost all breast) or complete removal of the breast (mastectomy) be necessary. Practiced either intervention depending on several factors, one of the most common is the tumor size.

If the nodule is small, it can be removed without touching much nearby tissue, it is what is known as lumpectomy or conservative surgery. The removal may be preceded, or not, of a chemotherapy treatment, according to the oncologist. If the tumor is large, or the breast is small, it may not be possible to preserve the chest, because it will be necessary to remove large quantity. For this reason, we will proceed to completely remove it by mastectomy.

Once the tumor and surrounding tissue excised, they are examined both by microscope . There are cases where the surrounding tissue is abnormal, so the patient must be reoperated. It is what is known as enlargement.

Cases where a mastectomy is usually required can be summarized in the following:

In addition to removing the breast or the tumor, often also remove lymph in the armpit on the same side of the body, as this area is usually the first to be affected by tumor spread beyond the breast. The number of nodes that are removed is very different in each patient and surgical team. Currently, techniques radio labeling, some groups of surgeons remove only one node that is being studied, called "sentinel node," which is the one that predicts the state are others, and prevent the removal of more nodes if it is not affected by the tumor.

In patients in whom had to be made subsequent mastectomy breast reconstruction is possible through plastic surgery. Some surgeons try it in the same surgery, and other patient wait for the end of the other treatments, if surgery will be complemented with someone else. The results are usually satisfactory, and there is no evidence that breast reconstruction makes it more likely the recurrence of breast cancer. Nor it will make it more difficult to detect cancer in the event being played.

The tumor is too large to be removed completely and the chest is a reasonably correct aesthetic appearance.
There is more than one tumor in the same breast.
The tumor is located just below the nipple.
The patient has been operated above a lumpectomy or wide excision, and the tissue surrounding the cancer is abnormal.

Know more:

• Watch our ' Cancer ' other articles of interest:
• Breast cancer
• Breast cancer in men

Of interest

• Cancer and Chemotherapy
• Cancer and radiotherapy
• Pain and cancer
• Control the adverse effects of chemotherapy

2. Radiotherapy:

Studies indicate that patients treated with conservative surgery should receive radiation therapy to the affected breast after surgery. Often applied daily sessions (Monday through Friday) for about five weeks. If the patient underwent breast removal (mastectomy), radiation therapy is usually applied only in cases deemed risk of recurrence of tumor. The sense of radiotherapy is to end the malignant cells the surgeon can not see, and have been in the area of the primary lesion after surgery. Side effects that will appear on the breast are primarily skin redness, inflamed appearance and loss of some layers of the skin, especially in the final treatment sessions. It is important that the patient follow the instructions of doctors and nurses for care of the skin in that area.

3. Treatment of early breast cancer

We can make a local treatment, ie, the area where the tumor is confined; or systemic treatment, it ie throughout the body, trying to destroy any cells that may have escaped to other areas. Local treatment is surgical and radiotherapeutic.

4. Drug treatments

Drugs called chemotherapeutics act on tumor cells that may have spread through the body. In some patients, this spread of cancer cells can not be detected with any diagnostic method. Medicines can destroy these cells or keep them from growing for a period of longer or shorter time. The chemotherapy may be given before or after surgery or radiation therapy. In cases where it is applied before, his intention is usually to decrease the size of primary tumor, to allow better surgical or radiotherapy treatment. In addition to chemotherapy, there are also other drugs against tumor cells: hormone preparations. These preparations are based on the property that some tumors grow in the presence of hormones, so that when administering the drug, the tumor stops growing.

5. Hormones

A significant number of breast cancers are sensitive or estrogen-dependent. This means that tumor cells need estrogen (hormone) to stay alive and grow. The withdrawal of estrogen the body or its inhibition is an effective system to stop the growth of these tumors. However, there are tumors that are independent of these hormones in the hormonal treatment does not give good results. There is also sensitive tumors other important female hormone: progesterone.

Tamoxifen: hormonal drug most frequently used in Spain for estrogen - sensitive tumors is Tamoxifen. It is an anti - estrogen (estrogen acts against). Some side effects of administration are flushing (reddening of the face), vaginal dryness and vaginal discharge. But the most important effect is that it can slightly increase the incidence of endometrial cancer , although we have to say that this risk is very low, and does not prevent its widespread use. Very few women have had to discontinue treatment with tamoxifen because of side effects.

Aromatase inhibitors: Another type of hormonal drugs are called aromatase inhibitors, a major in the production of estrogen in women who have passed the enzyme menopause . Inhibitors block the enzyme and prevent estrogen production. Some of these drugs are letrozole, anastrozole, exemestane. Side effects may include redness, nausea and lack of appetite. Occasionally, patients have had to abandon treatment for a sense of constant discomfort.

Ovaries in women who have not yet reached menopause, the main source of estrogens are the ovaries. So, to stop the production of these hormones can be used anti - hormonal medicines or even surgical removal of the ovaries. Both surgery and drugs as initial effect produce an appearance of menopausal symptoms: malaise, hot flashes, etc.

6. Chemotherapeutics

They are drugs that act against the tumor cell. Today usually preferred, being more effective, administration of several of these medicines, better than one. The problem presented is that they are not able to recognize accurately the tumor cells form, and also destroy part of healthy cells, causing the occurrence of secondary symptoms such as hair loss, skin (desquamation), nail or blood cells, causing anemia or decrease the body 's defenses (leukocytes).

The administration of chemotherapy is usually through an intravenous drip, sometimes without hospitalization (hospital or day treatment). The sessions last a few hours or cycles, and are usually administered every 21 days (3 weeks). Side effects depend on the drug administered, but usually tend to be hair loss, blood disorders, nausea, vomiting and a feeling of tiredness intense. There are cases where it does not appear any of these symptoms, and the patient tolerated chemotherapy well.

One of the side effects that are not due to chemotherapy drugs is weight gain in some patients. the drugs given together or after chemotherapy usually corticosteroids should be. Chemotherapy does produce premature menopause, and young women who still have menstruation, it usually disappears.

7.Treatment of locally advanced breast cancer

Some cases may be treated in the same way as early cancers, being possible quirúrica intervention. However, most patients often require chemotherapy previously followed by it, and / or radiotherapy. Similarly, the initial treatment may be radiotherapy, surgery and then and / or chemotherapy. This initial treatment is often routed to shrink the tumor, to facilitate later removal. Drug therapy may consist of hormonal treatment in cases of tumors with slow and sensitive growth hormones, or chemotherapy in cases of non-hormone-sensitive tumors, or rapid growth.

Prognosis of patients with early cancer
There are several factors related to breast cancer survival:

• Tumor size: the smaller, the greater chance of survival.
• Spread to lymph nodes: the greater the number of nodes in the armpit affected by tumor, the worse prognosis. Similarly, if there are more nodes removed from the armpit or in the opposite armpit or other areas of the body, also the prognosis is worse.
• Microscopic tumor type: there are more and less aggressive.
• Histological grade: the best prognosis are grade I and the worst prognosis, grade III.
• If there are cancer cells in lymph or blood vessels, indicating worse prognosis.
• If the tumor is rapidly growing worse prognosis.
• The existence of sensitivity to hormones seems to give better prognosis.

8. Prognosis of patients with locally advanced cancer

These patients have a worse than those with early cancer prognosis. The local recurrence (in the same starting area) of the disease after treatment, is a problem even in patients who underwent drug treatment, surgery or radiotherapy. It improves prognosis in patients with a good response to initial treatment. In some cases, after chemotherapy, the treatment is so effective that when the surgery is done, it is not possible to identify cancer cells in the breast or lymph nodes.

9. Metastatic cancer prognosis

Metastasis is the spread of the tumor to other parts of the body, outside and from their place of origin. The prognosis is very poor in these patients, although depending on the affected area, the prolongation of survival is very variable, and can be years with palliative treatments.

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