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Surgery as Treatment for Breast CancerThere are many treatment choices for women who are diagnosed with breast cancer. Surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and biological therapy are the primary choices for treatment. Many women will have more than one treatment. Your choice of treatment will largely depend on which stage your cancer is in. You doctor will be able to explain treatments to you, and the side effects and expected results.
Questions to ask your doctor may start with, "how will the treatment affect my normal activities?" You will want to know how your looks will be affected during and
after treatment and questions on possible loss of hair.
Cancer treatments are split into two therapies. Local therapy and systemic therapy are used for different stages of breast cancer. Local therapy is used when the cancer has not spread to other areas of the body. Surgery and radiation are local therapy treatments. Systemic therapy is chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and biological therapy. They enter the bloodstream and destroy cancer cells throughout the body. Some women will have this therapy before surgery to shrink the tumor before the operation, or will have it as a follow-up of the surgery. This may keep the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body.
Side effects are common but may not be the same for each person. Treatments will affect your each body differently and can change from treatment to treatment. Before you start treatment, your doctor will explain the treatment and the possible side effects.
Surgery is the most common treatment used for breast cancer. Even surgeries are divided into types beginning with lumpectomies, and partial mastectomy. A biopsy can be a lumpectomy if the whole tumor is removed for biopsy purposes. A doctor will also remove lymph nodes from under the arm to see if cancer cells have entered the lymphatic system. A full mastectomy is when the entire breast is removed as well as the lymph nodes under the arm. This surgery may also involve removing some of the lining over chest muscles where the tumor was found.
If cancer is found in the removed lymph nodes, the doctor will follow surgery with radiation or chemotherapy to fight the cancer in other parts of the body. Many women choose to have breast reconstruction done at the time of their mastectomy. It can be done later if the woman chooses. A plastic surgeon may be in the operating room and take over after the doctor has performed the first surgery. This is often done to spare the woman the trauma of a second surgery.
Surgery always carries a risk for infection and will always mean pain. Discuss pain relief with your doctor before the surgery and remember that pain medication can be adjusted after surgery to give you the relief you need. Surgery may cause numbness or tingling in the chest, arms, shoulder, and underarms. This will normally go away within a few months. In some cases, the numbness does not go away.
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