Breast Cancer Treatment Information and Options
Most important is the type and stage of cancer, which is as distinctive as you are. Once this has been determined, explore all of the breast cancer treatment options available before deciding which are best for you.
While there are a variety of treatments available, each falls into one of two categories - local and systemic. Local treatments are those which destroy or remove cancer cells from a specific area of the body. Systemic treatments go beyond a localized area and fight cancer cells throughout the entire body. These treatments may be used alone, but are often used together in various combinations. Let's take a closer look at the treatments in each of these categories and how they are used.
Surgery is typically the first local breast cancer treatment used. Surgical procedures are Lumpectomy - the removal of the lump or tumor only. A small amount of tissue around the tumor is usually removed as well. Generally, a lumpectomy is performed when the cancer is found early, the lump is small and in only one part of the breast. Mastectomy - removal of the entire breast. This procedure is usually performed when cancer cells have spread throughout the breast or into other areas of the body.
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