Options
for Breast Cancer Treatment at OLBH
Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital medical specialists offer a number of effective breast cancer treatment options. A woman and her doctor should determine the proper treatment methods based on the location and extent of the cancer, her age and preferences, along with the risks and benefits of each treatment.
Breast cancer treatment options at OLBH include surgery, radiation therapy, chemo-therapy and hormonal therapy.
Local treatments, such as breast surgery and radiation therapy, are focused on the breast itself to remove or destroy the cancer cells in the breast tissue. General treatments, such as chemotherapy and hormonal therapy, aim to destroy the cancer cells that may have spread throughout the body.
Breast Surgery
Surgery has an important role in breast cancer treatment. Most women can choose between breast-conserving surgery, which includes a lumpectomy plus radiation, or the removal of the breast - a mastectomy. Clinical trials have proven that both options provide the same long-term survival rates for most types of early stage breast cancer.
Lumpectomy removes a small tumor and a margin of normal tissue around the tumor. The surgeon also removes some of the lymph nodes under the arm to determine if the cancer has spread beyond the breast tissue. A lumpectomy followed by radiation therapy to destroy any remaining cancer cells is the standard of care.
A modified radical mastectomy is the term given to surgery that removes the entire breast, some of the lymph nodes under the arm, and the lining over the chest muscles. This type of surgery may be appropriate when the breast tumor is large or if cancer is found in more than one part of the breast.
Yet another type of mastectomy, referred to as a radical mastectomy, involves removal of the breast, chest muscles, and all lymph nodes under the arm. This was the standard treatment many years ago. However today, it is normally used only when a tumor has spread to the chest muscles.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation uses high-energy X-rays to destroy cancer cells. "Radiation therapy is usually used after lumpectomy to destroy any cancer cells that still may remain in the breast after surgery," Aaron Williams, Pharm. D.,
M.D., OLBH radiation oncologist, explained. "It is also sometimes effective for shrinking the tumor size before surgery."
The Ashland-Bellefonte Cancer Center offers an advanced typed of radiation therapy, known as Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT). "With laser accuracy, the beams of radiation enter the body from many angles and intersect on the cancer," Dr. Williams said. "This results in a high dosage to the tumor and a lower dose to the surrounding, healthy tissues."
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy involves the use of medications, either administered into the vein, as a shot or as a pill taken by mouth. "Depending on the stage of the cancer's development, chemotherapy can be used to cure cancer, to keep it from spreading, to slow the cancer's growth, to kill cancer cells that may have spread to other parts of the body or to relieve symptoms caused by cancer," Kirti Jain, M.D., OLBH oncologist, said.
Chemotherapy is given in cycles, followed by a recovery period. Side effects of chemotherapy depend on the drugs given, the amounts taken and the length of treatment.
Hormonal Therapy
Dr. Jain says that hormonal therapy prevents cancer cells from getting the hormones they need to grow. "If a breast tumor relies on the body's natural hormones to grow, it is described as estrogen-positive or progesterone-positive," Dr. Jain clarified. "This means that any cancer cells that remain after surgery may continue to grow when these hormones are present in the body. Hormonal therapy can reduce the amount of the body's natural hormones or block the hormones from reaching any remaining cancer cells."
For more information about breast cancer treatments at Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital, please call the CareLine at (606) 833-CARE (2273).
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