Treatment
The treatment of breast cancer varies from one individual to another. Treatment options are recommended to different people based on several factors, such as:
- The location, size, and number of cells present.
- The stage of the cancer
- Previous medical history.
- The characteristics of the genes of the cancerous cells.
These factors help the healthcare professional recommend the right medications or therapy that suits the condition to be treated. These treatments include:
- Medications: these drugs help to reduce the rate of growth and production of these harmful cells. Herceptin is a good example of such drug.
- Chemotherapy: this is also known as adjuvant therapy. In this case, a form of drug treatment is used to destroy the cancer cells. This therapy has several negative effects and therefore, it must be advised by a doctor before undergoing this process.
- Surgery: this is the most common form of treatment and this can be in different forms. It can either be mastectomy [4] or lumpectomy (removal of the mass tissue without removing the whole breast) and others.
Conclusion
Breast cancer occurs as a result of uncontrollable growth of harmful cells. It can be caused by genetic mutations, age, medications and others listed above. There is no particular cure for this condition but there are developments of better treatment options. The best form of treatment is early detection and some signs have been listed above for better knowledge.
References
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1247/
[2] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/menopause/symptoms-causes/syc-20353397
[3] https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types
[4] https://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/treatment/surgery-for-breast-cancer/mastectomy.html