According to the Mayo Clinic, invasive ductal carcinoma accounts for 70 percent of all breast cancers. This form of cancer originates in the lining of the milk duct. The cancerous cells eventually penetrate the ductal wall and spread to surrounding breast tissue. Standard treatment depends on a number of factors including whether or not these cancerous cells have moved beyond the breast and into other parts of the body and if the tissue is sensitive to hormones. Deciding on a course of treatment can be difficult and the Mayo Clinic suggests seeking out a second opinion from a breast specialist.
Surgical Procedures
A lumpectomy involves surgical removal of the tumor and a small amount of surrounding healthy tissue to ensure complete removal of the malignant growth. This treatment is most effective for smaller tumors that can easily be cut out of surrounding tissue.
A mastectomy is a surgical procedure that removes your whole breast. A simple mastectomy removes all of the breast tissue including ducts, lobules and fatty tissue while a radical mastectomy removes all of this plus the underlying muscle of the chest wall and lymph nodes in the arm pit.
If your breast cancer spreads to the lymph nodes, it can spread to other parts of your body through the lymph fluid. In order to determine if it has spread to there, your surgeon will determine which lymph node the tumor is using to drain lymph fluid. He will then remove this node and check it for the presence of cancerous cells. If none are found, it is likely your other nodes are clear and will not have to be removed. If cancer is present in that first node, he will remove the other ones in the armpit.
Radiation
Radiation therapy uses powerful beams of energy to destroy cancer cells. It is a common treatment for post-lumpectomy early-stage breast cancers. If you had a mastectomy and your tumor was on the larger side, your doctor might also recommend a course of radiation therapy. Side effects include fatigue, swollen breast tissue and lymphedema (swelling) in the arm.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy involves the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. You will need chemotherapy for your breast cancer if you are at high risk for a recurrence or the cancer is likely to spread outside the breast. Your doctor might also give you chemotherapy before surgery if your breast tumor is large; this aims to shrink it for easier removal during surgery. If your cancer has spread to other areas of the body, chemotherapy can control the cancer and decrease any symptoms it is causing.
Side effects vary depending on the particular treatment. The most common effects are hair loss, nausea, vomiting, fever and weakened immunity.
Hormone Therapy
If your breast cancer is sensitive to the hormones estrogen and progesterone, certain treatments help control the hormones in your body; this can prevent cancer from returning or control cancer that has spread.
Tamoxifen prevents estrogen from attaching to estrogen receptors on the cancer cells. This will either kill the cancer cell or slow its growth. This treatment is appropriate for both pre- and postmenopausal women. Arimidex, Femara and Aromasin prevent androgens from turning into estrogen; they are only useful for postmenopausal women.
Targeted Drug Therapy
Targeted drugs are formulated to act on particular abnormalities of cancer cells. The following have been approved to treat breast cancer.
Herceptin acts on a specific protein, HER2, that is responsible for facilitating the growth and survival of breast cancer cells. This medication can destroy that protein. Avastin blocks cancer cell signals that promote new blood vessels; without these vessels, the tumor cannot obtain the oxygen and nutrients necessary for survival. Tykerb also targets the HER2 protein and is used in women who were not successful with Herceptin.
Tags: breast cancer, cancer cells, your breast, breast tissue, cancerous cells
