Breast Cancer Series 3

What Are the Treatments?

5. There is no single breast cancer treatment that works for everyone.

Treatment depends on factors such as:

Type of breast cancer
Stage
Tumor characteristics
Hormone-receptor status
HER2 status
Genetic/biomarker findings
Overall health
Patient preferences

Treatment may include one or more approaches.

Surgery

Surgery may remove the cancer while preserving as much breast tissue as appropriate (lumpectomy) or remove the entire breast (mastectomy). Lymph nodes may also be evaluated.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation uses high-energy radiation to destroy cancer cells and can be used after surgery or in other treatment situations.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses medicines that kill cancer cells or stop them from growing. Not everyone with breast cancer needs chemotherapy. Its usefulness depends on the cancer's characteristics and risk of recurrence.

Hormone Therapy

Some breast cancers use estrogen or progesterone to grow. Hormone therapy can block or reduce the effects of these hormones and is an important treatment for hormone-receptor-positive cancers.

Targeted Therapy

Targeted therapies attack specific features of cancer cells. For example, some treatments target HER2-positive breast cancers or particular genetic changes.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy helps the immune system fight cancer and is used for selected breast cancers, including certain triple-negative breast cancers.

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials may provide access to new treatments or new combinations of existing treatments and can be an option for some patients.

6. The Benefits of Early Detection and Treatment

One of the most important messages about breast cancer is:

Don't Ignore a Change. Don't Delay Evaluation.

Early detection can identify some cancers before they have spread. Screening mammography has been shown to reduce breast cancer mortality in appropriate populations.

Treatment can provide several important benefits, depending on the individual cancer:

Remove or destroy cancer cells
Reduce the chance of recurrence
Prevent or slow cancer progression
Preserve breast tissue when appropriate
Control symptoms
Improve quality of life
Extend survival
In many cases, achieve long-term remission or cure

For metastatic breast cancer, treatment is generally focused on controlling the disease, relieving symptoms, improving quality of life, and potentially extending life.