Latest researches have designed new chemicals and
alternative therapies to fight against this disease. Apart from that, prevention
campaigns have provided people with more information about factors that can help
to care about breast cancer. In fact, the last decade, there have been many new
life-saving treatments, which offer more hope to patients.
As regards to treatment options, patients and physicians may decide
together how to face this stage of the disease. Generally, four standard
treatment alternatives are considered: surgery, radiation therapy, hormonal
therapy and chemotherapy. Some of them can be combined. Each patient will
receive the appropriate therapy according to type of breast cancer, stage and
personal medical history.
Most patients who suffer from breast cancer undergo a surgery once
the tumor has been localized and classified. In addition, they are likely to
receive an adjuvant hormonal therapy (with tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor),
and/or radiotherapy. Patients are always divided in two main groups that
are categorized consistent with the risk category they belong to (high risk or
low risk). These categories are created by using general clinical criteria (age,
type of cancer, size, and metastasis).
When healthcare providers plan a treatment, they use PCR tests like
Oncotype DX or microarray tests like MammaPrint, which can predict breast cancer
recurrence risk. FDA (the Food and Drug Administration) approved in 2007 the
MammaPrint test as the first formal method to predict breast cancer. Genetics is
now a new support for breast cancer prevention and treatment. The MammaPrint
test enables practitioners to predict how a woman with early-stage breast cancer
will relapse in 5 or 10 years. This information will also help physicians to
decide what treatment applies to the initial tumor.
There is another innovative method of treating breast cancer. It is
called Interstitial laser thermotherapy (ILT). It is a procedure in which
destruction of soft tissues in the body is performed through high temperatures
created by the local absorption of laser energy.
Radiation treatment also destroys cancer cells that may remain after
surgery. Radiation is a traditional procedure that can reduce the risk of
recurrence by 50-66% (1/2 - 2/3rds reduction of risk) when is applied in the
correct dosage.
Additionally, nowadays, there are complementary treatments to reach
mental and body patient health, while conventional therapies are also used.
These procedures help patients to relieve symptoms, ease treatment adverse
effects and improve quality of life. Some of these complementary therapies are:
reiki, acupuncture, hypnosis, music therapy, progressive muscle relaxation and
massage among others.
People, who experience breast cancer, usually have uncomfortable or
painful physical symptoms to cope with every day. Some of them are caused by the
disease itself but others are side effects of the treatments they receive.
Therefore, complementary therapies may be a useful element during traditional
breast cancer treatments.
