Preventing Breast Cancer Recurrence for Survivors

Today there are an increasing number of options in the treatment of breast cancer.

Surgery
The main method of local treatment is surgery that removes the tumor (s), if the chest. Procedures such as lumpectomy or mastectomy would be applicable. Surgery, the removal of the axillary lymph nodes.

Influence
Radiation that hits the tumor, is another form of local treatment. Radiation destroys clusters or very small simple number of cancer cells that may exist after the operation. You can expect to receive radiation therapy five days a week for 5-6 weeks. The good news is that each treatment only lasts a few minutes.

After surgery and / or radiation therapy, most patients with chemotherapy or hormonal therapy are treated to eliminate residual tumor cells.

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a treatment to kill cancer cells in the body. There are different types of chemotherapy, but all have the potential side effects, some of which may be severe. The best way to know the side effects associated with drugs is that you ask your doctor.

Hormone Therapy
Hormone therapy is a medical treatment to the level of a patient or estrogen estrogen from reaching the tumor to reduce or prevent. Estrogen plays an important role in breast cancer, because it feeds some tumors and makes them grow and spread. These breast cancers are called depends orestrogen hormone receptor-positive, estrogen-dependent breast cancer with hormone therapy o acts by inhibiting the action of estrogen, directly or indirectly. In premenopausal women the ovaries are the main source of estrogen production. In women after menopause, the ovaries no longer produce estrogen. However, the body produces hormones called androgens other estrogens by the action of an enzyme called aromatase. The goal of hormonal treatment of breast cancer is to deprive cancer cells of estrogen, which they grow.