However, some women, frightened by the diagnosis, look for a quick-fix treatment, and wonder about their survival chances.
Metastatic breast cancer
When breast cancer returns, it tends to show up in specific areas of the body. Most commonly affected areas are the breast (or the area where the breast used to be),
Breast cancer that returns in other parts of the body is invasive in most cases. However, cancer that comes back in the breast after surgery or radiation therapy can be either non-invasive or invasive. If a woman develops cancer in the opposite breast from the one that was originally treated, it is probably not a recurrence. Most cancers that develop on the other side represent a new cancer rather than a recurrence of the same one. In fact, breast cancer can return in three general locations. It can be in the breast where it started or in the skin and underlying tissues where the breast used to be. It could be regional in the lymph nodes next to the breast. Lastly, it could occur as metastatic in another part of the body, such as the lung, liver, bone, or brain, or in lymph nodes far from the breast.
Early treatment of breast cancer
The aim of early breast cancer treatment is to remove the cancer from the breast and armpit area, and also to destroy any cancer cells that may have spread to other parts of the body. Treatment usually involves breast-conserving surgery followed by radiotherapy, or mastectomy that sometimes also goes together with radiotherapy.
What are metastatic breast-cancer treatment options?
The main aim of treatment for metastatic breast cancer is to improve the quality of a woman’s life by reducing any symptoms she may be experiencing. Some treatments help lessen its symptoms by stopping the cancer from growing. It could also be achieved by decreasing the size of the cancer for a time. This way, the treatment may also increase life expectancy, but this has not been proven in a clinical trial.
At this moment, there are many treatment options available for women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. These may include hormonal therapies, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, and others, usually aimed at relieving the symptoms. Choosing the right treatment is an ongoing process of weighing up the possible benefits and side effects of each treatment option. A patient should certainly discuss this with the doctor at length; however, the patient is the only one who can judge what matters most.
Commonly, a patient will be eligible to participate in a clinical trial that tests new treatments. The symptoms you experience will depend on the location of the cancer in your body and the type of treatment you have underwent for the primary cancer. Pain and other symptoms of metastatic breast cancer can be controlled effectively. Support is available to help each woman to get through these trying times.
Diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer will likely affect those close to you to a great extent. Good communication between the patient and others is essential in adjusting to the changing circumstances and resolving any problems. Support is also available for family and friends, as is practical support and financial assistance.
Types of treatments available for metastatic breast cancer
Every patient diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer will hear a recommendation to of one or more general anti-cancer treatments. These treatments work on the body overall to control the size and spread of the cancer. By doing this, they help relieve the symptoms patient is likely to experience. These general anti cancer treatments include hormonal therapies and chemotherapy. One or more specific treatments are also available, depending on the cancer’s location and the symptoms experienced.
Treatment of metastatic cancer
There are many effective treatments of metastatic treatment that fall into three main types. First, systemic or whole-body treatment, attacking cancer cells throughout the body. Then you have localized treatment, for a specific metastasis that is causing problems, and as the third type, pain relief treatments.
You may know of only one locale to which the cancer has spread. However, once there is one site of spread, it is likely that the cancer is growing in other places as
However, a patient may need treatment that works fast to take care of a dangerous problem, such as reducing the risk of bone breaks from areas weakened by cancer. The doctor should also prevent cancer spreading to the brain, and spinal cord damage from the cancer pressure. That is why the doctor will need to find one or a combination of treatments that will fix this problem right away. Treatment aims at the specific threatening metastasis, and may include steroids, radiation, and surgery to relieve pressure on tissues or to stabilize a broken bone. A patient commonly receives pain-relieving medication until systemic therapy starts to relieve cancer’s symptoms. Pain relievers can also make a sufferer comfortable if cancer does not respond to whole-body treatments. If bone metastases develop, your doctor may add bone-building drugs over time.
Advances in hormonal and biological therapies and optimized chemotherapy dosing for breast cancer will help the doctor better treat early-stage breast cancer. It will also help treating breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.
More than 2 million women living in the U.S. receive treatment for, or they are living with breast cancer. In addition, doctors expect more than 40,000 women to die from the disease in 2006. Though breast cancer death rates are declining, mostly due to earlier diagnosis, the disease remains the second leading cause of cancer death in women, with lung cancer in the first place.
Read More: Breast Cancer Prevention: Practical Aspects
Advances in hormonal therapy for postmenopausal women with breast cancer
Tamoxifen has been available for the treatment of early-stage breast cancer since the 1980s. However, more recently, a new class of drugs called aromatase inhibitors achieves better results when compared directly with Tamoxifen. Aromatase inhibitors, indicated for use in postmenopausal women, act by blocking the formation of estrogen. This hormone fuels the growth of hormone receptor-positive breast cancers.
The three aromatase inhibitors approved in the U.S. include Femara, Aromasin, and Arimidex. Several studies are under way to find the best strategy for using these agents in patients who have already received Tamoxifen. One study presented at a breast cancer symposium reported increased disease-free survival when patients received two to four years of Femara instead of placebo after receiving five years of Tamoxifen. In particular, patients who had the disease spread to their lymph nodes seemed to show the greatest benefit from continued Femara treatments.
Doctors also demonstrated positive results with Arimidex, another aromatase inhibitor, in the treatment of early-stage breast cancer. One study found that switching to Arimidex after two to three years of Tamoxifen links to better survival without disease recurrence after five years, compared with staying on Tamoxifen for five years. They reported similar findings for Aromasin as well. Together, these findings help confirm that aromatase inhibitors provide a significant benefit to patients with early-stage breast cancer.