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Over the past, there have been advancements in medical science. Hence, we now have several treatment choices towards breast cancer. Mostly, breast cancer begins to show in women who are over 35 years. Also, one can be affected with breast cancer due to family genealogy. Due to constant research in medicine, we have broken the limited options that was present in the past. We now have various treatments that are now easily available towards breast cancer treatment. The top breast cancer treatment options that are available today are surgery, radiation, hormonal treatment and finally chemotherapy. I am now going to provide you with an overview of the available treatments that are as follows :
Surgery :
Surgery can be considered as the traditional form of treatment towards breast cancer.
Due to advancements made in medical technology, surgery now is made more
precise. It is now possible to conduct a surgery towards the exact spot of the disease.
This approach prevents damage towards the unaffected area of the body.
2) Radiation Therapy :
Radiation therapy consists of energy radiation, derived from x-rays, gamma rays,
electrons and other sources. High levels of radiation are sent directly towards the
cancer cells. Even after surgery, radiation therapy may be used in order to kill those
cancer cells that was unable to be treated by surgery itself. Sometimes, radiation
therapy is also combined with chemotherapy, to bring relief from pain or to shrink
the size of the tumor. This treatment is short but there are also side effects with it.
For example : during radiation therapy, both cancer cells, as well as healthy cells also
get affected. However most of the healthy cells are repairable by themselves.
There are three types of radiation therapy. They are : External beam radiation therapy, Brachytherapy and Systemic radiation therapy.
A) External beam radiation therapy : It can be considered as a traditional radiation therapy which is external in nature. An external beam radiation therapy is done on the patient by using a machine called a simulator. For example : A CT simulator takes images or scans, which consist of a picture of the area to be treated. These pictures assist the radiation therapy team toward the right decision treatment of the patient. It helps to direct the radiation to the body of the patient. It’s a painless treatment.
B) Brachytherapy : With this type of therapy, cancer is treated with high level of radiation, but in a concentrated area. In brachytherapy, radiation producing substances are planted within the body or near the cancer affected area.
C) Systemic radiation therapy : In this type of treatment, the radiation source is given in the form of a liquid, that is given as a drink or in capsule that is suppose to be swallowed. It can also be injected into the vein.
3) Hormonal therapy treatment :
This treatment is found to be useful for woman who have hormone receptive positive
breast cancer. Tamoxifen is been used since ages as a anti-estrogen hormone therapy
drug for treating breast cancer. It is found that aromatase inhibitors work better than
Tamoxifen; towards post menopausal woman suffering from hormone-receptor
positive breast cancer. However, the drug called ‘tamoxifen’, is still considered to be
a popular drug for pre-menopausal woman.
Chemotherapy :
This type of treatment therapy makes use of chemicals to treat the disease. The
consumed chemical affects the entire body, through the blood stream. Hence, it can
be considered as a very effective method of treating cancer cells. However,
chemotherapy also acts on healthy cells which lead to side effects like loss of hair,
nausea and even skin diseases. However, every person who is suffering from cancer
may react differently with different treatment. It is for the doctor to decide
which treatment can work the best for the cancer patient.
DISCLAIMER: The information and products on this website are in no way intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any cancer related illness, disease or condition whatsoever. Anyone looking for medical advice needs to contact a Licensed physician. Please read the disclaimer below for more information
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