| Your team of doctors will make treatment | | | | cancer." This can be a frightening prospect for |
| recommendations based on the stage of your cancer. | | | | anyone. We've all heard horror stories about how |
| Your standard treatment options may include | | | | very debilitating chemotherapy can be. However, |
| surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone | | | | much progress has been made in the management |
| therapy. If you have been diagnosed with DCIS or | | | | of chemo's side effects, to the point that, once you |
| LCIS, your stage is the lowest and the road you will | | | | have the right management tools, you can continue |
| travel will be easier. For DCIS, your options may | | | | to enjoy the activities you typically do. Chemo is a |
| include breast-conserving surgery or mastectomy | | | | means of treating your cancer systemically and is |
| with or without radiation and hormone therapy. | | | | typically recommended for those whose tumor is |
| LCIS treatments options are a bit different. They | | | | larger than a certain size and/or the cancer has |
| include observation to determine changes, hormone | | | | spread to your lymph nodes. The thinking is that if |
| therapy to prevent cancer from developing, or | | | | your cancer has had the opportunity to access the |
| bilateral prophylactic (preventive) mastectomies. | | | | rest of your body, your treatment should be |
| Things get more complicated when your cancer | | | | systemic as well.o Radiation: Radiation therapy is |
| spreads beyond the ducts or lobes/lobules. Once | | | | typically a localized treatment option, where rapidly |
| your cancer has been staged, you can visit to | | | | dividing cells are damaged. Cancer cells are very rapid |
| determine your treatment options. They will typically | | | | dividers, so radiation is an effective option. Typically, |
| include: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and/or | | | | radiation therapy is given for about six weeks, five |
| hormone therapy. For IBC, treatment options are | | | | days a week. It's very much like lying still for an |
| similar to the other types of breast cancer, but they | | | | x-ray, only instead of lasting a second or two, it lasts |
| will always include chemotherapy because of its | | | | a couple of minutes. It can cause fatigue, toward the |
| aggressiveness.o Surgery: Breast surgery can be | | | | end and slightly after, and can cause a sunburn |
| either a lumpectomy, where the tumor is removed, | | | | effect on your skin.o Hormone Therapy: Many breast |
| or a partial or modified radical mastectomy. With a | | | | cancers are hormone-dependent. In these cancers, |
| lumpectomy, it is typically followed by radiation. This | | | | there are receptors on the tumor that can be filled |
| way, you get to keep your breast and studies have | | | | with estrogen. The thinking is that when estrogen fills |
| shown no difference in survival rates between | | | | these receptors, it causes the tumor to grow. This is |
| lumpectomy/radiation and mastectomy. | | | | called estrogen-receptor positive (ER). These cancers |
| Note: Not too long ago, they used to perform radical | | | | respond well to hormone therapy and the hormone |
| mastectomies where the breast, all the lymph nodes, | | | | therapy drug that will be recommended for you will |
| and the underlying muscle were cut away. Thankfully, | | | | depend on your menopausal status. These drugs are |
| medicine has discovered that's not necessary. Now, a | | | | in pill form and you take them once a day. The most |
| partial or modified radical mastectomy is performed, | | | | popular of these drugs, for pre-menopausal women, |
| where either part of the breast tissue, or the entire | | | | is Tamoxifen and, for post-menopausal women |
| breast, and possibly a portion of the lymph nodes, | | | | Femara or Arimidex. There is new evidence that |
| are removed. On the whole, a mastectomy isn't too | | | | suggests that taking Femara, after taking Tamoxifen |
| bad a surgery, although everyone is different. I found | | | | for five years, increases survival rates.o |
| both of mine to be quite easy, but you will wake up | | | | Immunotherapy: There is a fourth modality of |
| with drain tubes, which you'll typically have for at | | | | treatment on the horizon and it's called |
| least a week.o Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy is | | | | Immunotherapy. This involves getting your immune |
| defined by Wikipedia as "the use of chemical | | | | system to fight your cancer and there is, and will be, |
| substances to treat disease. In its modern-day use, it | | | | a lot of research being done in this area. |
| refers primarily to cytotoxic drugs used to treat | | | | |