Treatments for breast cancer include hormone therapy, lumpectomy, radiation, chemotherapy, mastectomy and lymph node removal. Exactly what is done is determined by the stage of breast cancer that is diagnosed.
0 - The Earliest Stage
If a woman has very small blockages in her mammary glands called “lobular carcinoma”, usually nothing is done except to watch her very carefully. Some women who have lobular carcinoma choose to have both of their breasts removed because the chances of getting breast cancer in the other breast are very hight. In the case of ductal carcinoma, women can often have only a lumpectomy - the lump is removed without having to remove the breast. She will then be treated with radiation therapy. Again, some women also choose to have both of their breasts removed as a preventative.
The Middle to Late Stages
In these stages, women are often treated with chemo, radiation and hormones before surgery is attempted. If the cancer is larger and is spreading quickly, a mastectomy is done followed with the removal of the lymph nodes in the axillary area. Radiation, chemotherapy and hormone therapies are used after this major surgery.
A woman can and often does choose to try chemotherapy for a while before surgery. If the tumor shrinks, she may only have to have the lump removed rather than have a mastectomy.
After a lumpectomy or a mastectomy, radiation therapy is most often undergone to kill any remaining cancer and increase a woman’s chance of survival.
Once the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, there is no choice but to remove them from the axillary area. A mastectomy is also performed in this case.
Breast Cancer Stage 4
This stage is considered the inoperable stage. At this stage, the cancer cannot be removed by surgery and the non-invasive treatments will only prolong a person’s life, not cure her. Still, many women choose to go through chemotherapy, radiation and hormone therapies in order to live as long as possible. Sometimes a woman feels like the treatments are making her more miserable than the cancer itself. She may then ask for supportive care. Supportive care offers other kinds of treatments that make a woman more comfortable in her last few months of life. Quality of life is the ultimate goal with supportive care.
When all of the cancer is not found or certain conditions cause a reoccurrence of cancer, mastectomy with lymph node removal is followed by radiation, chemotherapies and hormone therapies unless the cancer is too advanced. In that case, supportive care is often recommended.
While women are the majority when it comes to having breast cancer, a small percentage of men have been known to get it as well. The treatment is much the same for them.