Breast Cancer Treatment
Common breast cancer treatments
If you are diagnosed with breast cancer, it is likely that you will need to have some form of surgery to remove the affected breast tissue. You may well also need to have radiotherapy or chemotherapy to destroy cancer cells that aren’t removed by surgery.
However, your doctor will probably also recommend further tests to establish the type of breast cancer you have and determine the other types of breast cancer treatment that you would benefit from. The following two tests may be carried out on the cancerous cells removed from your breast
Hormone receptor test
This test will establish whether you will benefit from hormone breast cancer treatment. It determines whether the cancer cells in your breast allow hormones such as progesterone and oestrogen to attach to them, and stimulate their growth. If you have a positive result from this test your doctor will probably recommend hormone therapy along with surgery and additional treatments.
HER2 receptor test
This test will establish whether you will benefit from biological breast cancer treatment. It determines whether the cancer cells in your breast allow a particular protein called HER2 to attach itself to them, stimulating their growth. If you have a positive result from this test your doctor will probably recommend biological therapy along with surgery and additional treatments.
Breast cancer treatment 1 – surgery
Most women that are diagnosed with breast cancer will require some form of surgery. This could be a mastectomy, to remove the entire affected breast and possibly the lymph nodes in the armpit as well.
The alternative is a lumpectomy, which just removes the part of the breast tissue containing the tumour. This is also known as breast conserving surgery. Breast cancer surgery could be followed by a breast reconstruction.
For more information on surgery as a breast cancer treatment please see our page on breast cancer surgery.
Breast Cancer Treatment 2 – chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a breast cancer treatment that uses cytotoxic medication to target cancer cells and prevent them from multiplying. It is usually used after surgery to destroy any remaining cancer cells, but can also be used before surgery to shrink a tumour, or to treat recurring cancer. Chemotherapy is usually given intravenously over a period of four to eight months, and the side effects can be harsh as the treatment attacks healthy cells in the body as well as cancer cells. Chemotherapy can be followed by other breast cancer treatments such as radiotherapy. Please see our page on chemotherapy for breast cancer for more information.
Breast Cancer Treatment 3 – radiotherapy
Radiotherapy is similar to chemotherapy in that it targets rapidly growing cancer cells and destroys them to prevent the cancer from spreading or recurring. Unlike chemotherapy, radiotherapy is administered locally so only the breast area is affected. It is usually given alongside other forms of breast cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy, but can be given on its own if the cancer is detected in its very early stages.
Radiotherapy is a painless breast cancer treatment that only takes a few minutes, but it needs to be given five days a week for around three to six weeks. There are certain side effects including skin irritation around the breast, darkening of the skin around the breast, extreme fatigue, and swelling due to build up of lymph fluid in your arm.
Breast Cancer Treatment 4 – hormone therapy
If your cancer is found to be hormone receptor positive, you may be given hormone therapy to reduce the risk of recurrence. Hormone therapy works by reducing the levels of certain hormones such as oestrogen and progesterone in your body, or preventing them from feeding cancer cells.
Generally hormone therapy will be recommended after surgery and chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and most women take it for around five years after surgery. For more information on hormone therapy medication, please see our page on breast cancer medication.
Breast Cancer Treatment 5 – biological therapy
Biological therapy is a type of breast cancer treatment used to treat cancers that are receptive to the protein HER2. It is designed to prevent cancer recurring by reducing the effects of HER2, increasing the effectiveness of chemotherapy, and helping the immune system to fight cancer cells.
Biological therapy is usually given after a course of chemotherapy. For more information about the medication used in biological therapy, please see our page on breast cancer medication.
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