HOW TO TREAT BREAST CANCER ?

Breast cancer can be treated in many ways. The treatment depends upon the kind of breast cancer and its spread. Based on the situation, sometimes it happens that the patients get more than one kind of treatment. Following  treatment options are available:

Chemotherapy. A systemic therapy, that affects entire body by going through bloodstream. It uses special medicines, or drugs to shrink or kill the cancer. These can be either pills or medicines given through intravenous (IV) tube, or sometimes both.

Hormonal therapy. Some cancers need certain hormones to grow. Works by lowering the amount of estrogen in body and blocking its actions. Different hormonal therapy medicines are aromatase inhibitors, selective estrogen receptor modulators, and estrogen receptor downregulators.

Biological therapy. Targets the special features of cancer cells. Do not harm the normal healthy cells, as compared to chemotherapy.

• Herceptin
• Tykerb
• Avastin

Radiation Therapy. Is a highly targeted, and effective way to destroy cancer cells in the breast that remain around after surgery. Reduces the risk by about 70%. Uses high-energy rays (similar to X-rays) to kill the cancer cells.

Clinical Trials. Are research studies that help to find out new treatment options.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine. A group of medicines and practices used along with the standard treatments for cancer. Most popular ones are meditation, yoga and dietary supplements like vitamins and herbs.