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Types of Cancer > Breast Cancer > Management of Breast Cancer
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| Treating Breast Cancer |
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Breast cancer treatment requires a multi-disciplinary approach. Physicians involved in breast cancer treatment include surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists, and medical oncologists. In addition, oncology nurses, psychologists, and social workers also provide invaluable supportive service to breast cancer management.
Surgery is the treatment method most commonly used when fighting breast cancer. There are two types of surgery that are performed when treating this malignancy: lumpectomies and mastectomies. Of these two surgical procedures,
mastectomies are the more widely used.
A mastectomy is the surgical removal of the breast. There are various types of mastectomy performed and how much of the breast is actually removed during surgery will depend on the type of mastectomy being carried out. A partial mastectomy, also referred to as a segmental mastectomy, removes up to a quarter of that part of the breast in which the tumor has developed. It is also common for the lymph nodes located under the arm on the side of the afflicted
breast to be removed during a partial mastectomy. This type of mastectomy is often followed by radiation therapy to ensure that all of the cancer cells have been destroyed.
Unlike a partial mastectomy, a total mastectomy involves removal of the entire breast, although the muscle tissue beneath the breast and the lymph nodes are left alone. This type of mastectomy is generally recommended when the patient is at risk the cancer spreading to other parts of the body. In extreme cases, a total mastectomy may be recommended in order to avoid the development of breast cancer in the future. This procedure is usually recommended for women who are at extreme risk of developing the condition.
As with a total mastectomy, a modified radical mastectomy removes the entire breast, but unlike a total mastectomy, the surgery also removes the lymph nodes and some of the surrounding tissue. Modified radical mastectomies are the most common type of surgery performed on women who are undergoing complete breast removal. The rarest form of mastectomy is the radical
mastectomy. When a surgeon performs this type of surgery, he or she removes the entire breast, the lymph nodes, and the pectoral muscles located under the breast. This type of surgery generally causes significant physical deformity as a result it has been widely replaced with the modified radical mastectomy.
Because a lumpectomy leaves most of the breast intact and preserves the female figure, more and more patients who are at an early stage of breast cancer opt for a lumpectomy instead of a mastectomy. With a lumpectomy, only the tumor and a thin margin of the surrounding tissue are removed from the breast. However, if during examination the tissue that is removed is found to have cancerous cells, additional tissue may need to be removed.
In addition to surgical treatment, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are used when treating breast cancer. Chemotherapy is often used to shrink a tumor prior to surgery; radiation therapy is frequently used following surgery to
destroy any cancer cells remaining after surgery has been performed.
Which treatment method, or combination of methods, is used in any given situation is dependent upon a person's medical history, what stage the breast cancer is at, and the likelihood of the breast cancer returning. Only
a physician can determine which treatment approach is best for each individual patient.
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| Author: | Robert Dale, Certified Medical Writer |
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| Reviewer: | Jiade Jay Lu, M.D.
Diplomate, American Board of Radiology (Radiation Oncology) |
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| Publish Date: October 21, 2004 |
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