Breast Cancer in Women: Treatment and Management

Breast Cancer in Women: Treatment and Management
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Abstract
Cancer is caused when there is abnormal growth of body cells resulting in a mass tissue referred to as a tumor. Cancers are called after the body parts from which they start. Breast cancer begins in the fabric of the breast. It can grow and invade the tissue around just like the other types of cancers. It can also move to other body parts forming new tumours. The recommended type of treatment will depend on the stage of the disease, results of tests done, and tumour location in the breast. Treating breast cancer can either be systemic or local. Local treatments are usually used to destroy, remove or control the cancerous cells in a particular area. Systemic therapies are used to control and kill cells of cancer over the whole body. Radiation treatment and surgery are types of local treatments. Types of systemic treatment include hormone therapy and chemotherapy. After local treatment, the team of health technicians determines the possibility of cancer recurring outside the breast.
Key words: cancer, tumor, treatment, cells, diagnose

Body cells usually reproduce when there is a need for new cells. In some cases, cells in a body part divide and grow uncontrollably. This growth results in a mass tissue known as a tumor. When the growing cells are healthy, the resultant tumour is said to be benign. However, if the cells are not normal and do not function like the healthy cells of the body, the tumour is known as malignant or cancerous (Coates et al.

, 2015). Cancers are called after the body parts from which they start. Breast cancer begins in the tissue of the breast. It can grow and invade the tissue around just like the other types of cancers. It can also move to other body parts forming new tumours in a process known as metastasis (Coates et al., 2015).
If one is diagnosed with a cancerous growth, his/her health technician will come up with a plan of treatment. The plan can either be to minimize possibility of cancer moving to other body parts, curing, or avoiding it from returning after treatment. Treatment usually follows in the next few weeks after the testing. The recommended type of treatment will depend on the stage of the disease, results of tests done, and tumour location in the breast. Usually, the doctor will also consider feelings about the options of treatment, general health and age as well. Treating breast cancer can either be systemic or local (Coates et al., 2015).
Local treatments can be used to destroy, remove or control the cancerous cells in a particular area. Radiation treatment and surgery are types of local treatments. Systemic treatments are used to control and destroy cells of cancer over the whole body. Types of systemic treatment include hormone therapy and chemotherapy (Zardavas et al., 2015). Depending on the diagnosis of a patient, he/she may have a combination or just a single form of the treatment. Breast conservation surgery is removing the cancerous breast part and the normal surrounding tissue, without altering the breast appearance. This procedure is usually called partial mastectomy. This approach is the best fit for the women with an early-stage tumour (Zardavas et al., 2015). The other option of administering treatment to breast cancer is the mastectomy. It involves removing the whole breast.
In conclusion, after local treatment, the team of health technicians determines the possibility of cancer recurring outside the breast. However, each patient is supposed to evaluate the merits and limitations of every treatment type and help her physicians to get the best approach (Zardavas et al., 2015). A medical oncologist, who is a specialist trained to treat breast cancer, is usually part of the team. The specialist works with the surgeon. He or she may also advise the patient to use certain drugs or possibly chemotherapy. These treatments, however, are not used to replace local treatment of breast cancer with radiation therapy and surgery (Zardavas et al., 2015). They are instead used in addition to local treatment of breast cancer.
References
Coates, A. S., Winer, E. P., Goldhirsch, A., Gelber, R. D., Gnant, M., Piccart-Gebhart, M., … & Baselga, J. (2015). Tailoring therapies—improving the management of early breast cancer: St Gallen International Expert Consensus on the Primary Therapy of Early Breast Cancer 2015. Annals of oncology, 26(8), 1533-1546.
Zardavas, D., Irrthum, A., Swanton, C., & Piccart, M. (2015). Clinical management of breast cancer heterogeneity. Nature reviews Clinical oncology, 12(7), 381.