What is the treatment for breast cancer?

There are many treatments for breast cancer, the most common of which is surgery, which is a method that can completely cure the disease. Of course, the premise is that the disease can be detected in the early stages of breast cancer. For patients in the late stages, it is also a palliative treatment method. Other common treatments include chemotherapy, radiotherapy, etc., as well as immunotherapy, etc.

Surgical treatment:

For early-stage breast cancer, it is a complete cure, and for late-stage breast cancer it is often used as a palliative treatment. Total mastectomy, combined with axillary dissection and preservation of the pectoral muscles, is considered the current standard treatment for patients with stage I breast cancer and some stage II patients.

Chemotherapy drug treatment:

Chemotherapy is the use of anti-cancer drugs to damage the growth and division of cancer cells in order to kill them. After breast cancer patients undergo surgery or radiation therapy, doctors may use this therapy as an adjuvant treatment to reduce the chance of cancer recurrence. Generally speaking, the entire phase lasts for six months. Chemotherapy drugs can be divided into oral and intravenous injections. Each chemotherapy phase lasts for a few days, followed by a few weeks of rest to allow the body to gradually recover from the side effects of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy as a treatment for breast cancer may cause side effects such as fatigue, depression; nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite; gastrointestinal discomfort including diarrhea, hair loss, mouth pain and ulcers, and amenorrhea. Bone marrow is suppressed, hematopoietic function decreases, blood cell count decreases, and it is easy to be infected.

Radiation therapy:

It is one of the main treatments for breast cancer and is a partial treatment method. Radiation therapy is used for radical curative radiation therapy; preoperative and postoperative adjuvant treatment; and palliative radiation therapy. The initial results of radiation therapy, supplemented by smaller surgeries (such as lumpectomy), are encouraging.

Immunotherapy:

For many years, people have been exploring the use of immunology to treat breast cancer. Theoretically, immunotherapy is the most specific, only harming tumor cells but not normal cells. Its therapeutic effect is systemic and suitable for treating non-localized tumors. Although it has been tested many times, it has not achieved the expected effect.