Breast cancer is a disease condition when the tissue of the breast is damaged.It is the most widespread cancer amongst women and the second main cause of death. Luckily over the last few years we have seen a wealth of productive and successful advances against breast cancer, which is totally exciting. Before there were maybe only one or two options open to sufferers but today there’s a wide choice to combat the disease.

Surgery

Most women with breast cancer need some kind of surgery on the primary tumor. The aim is to remove as big a part of the cancer as possible.

• Tumor resection – also called “breast saving surgery”- removes the cancer formation. This is then usually followed by radio or chemotherapy.
• Partial or Segmental mastectomy – almost the same as the former one but a bigger damaged tissue is removed. Followed by radiotherapy.
• Total mastectomy – with this surgery the whole breast is removed excluding the lymph nodes and the muscle tissue under the breast.
• Radical mastectomy – the whole breast is removed along with the lymph nodes and the muscle tissue under the breast. Today this procedure is used less because it has ben proved that it has the same effect in early and advanced stages of the cancer.

Some side effects include infection or blood and/or fluid collecting in the affected area.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy includes use of anticancer medication injected into the body or administered orally through the mouth. These medicines spread through the body via the blood and reach the cancer cells. These medicines kill not only the damaged cells but also the healthy ones and so there can be side effects:

• Fatigue and exhaustion
• Nausea and vomiting
• Loss of appetite
• Hair loss
• Menstruation changes
• Higher risks of infections
• Bleeding or not healing in the case of minimal injuries.

Radiation therapy

Radiotherapy uses high energy rays that have the ability to kill or decrease the number of cancer cells. The source of the radiation can be outside the body or can be directly placed into the tumor. Every procedure lasts a couple minutes and it is painless. Side effects can be noted as heaviness in the breast and sheer exhaustion. Some women notice a decrease in the breast size after the radiotherapy. This kind of therapy isn’t allowed during pregnancy because it could harm the baby.

Hormone therapy

The female hormone estrogen causes enlargement of the cancer cells in the breast of some women. These patients use different methods to neutralize the estrogen’s effect so they can treat the cancer. Medicine like Tamoxifen is used against the estrogen’s effect. Aromatase inhibitors are a type of medicine that doesn’t allow the organism to produce estrogen. They are for use only for women in menopause and who have a cancer formation with hormone receptors.

Post therapy

After the first course of therapy it is important to go often to your health checks. You must inform your doctor of every symptom or side effect that worries you. Problems that trouble women with breast cancer are hair loss, changes in the body skin after radiation therapy and the overall result of the therapy. Many women with early diagnosed breast cancer restore their physical and psychological health after a year.