Chemo For Breast Cancer
Chemotherapy is used to treat early-stage invasive breast cancer to get rid of any cancer cells that may be left behind after surgery and to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back. Breast Cancer Chemo is also for advanced-stage breast cancer to destroy or damage the cancer cells as much as possible. In some cases, chemotherapy is given before surgery to shrink the cancer.
Breast Cancer Chemo Treatment
Chemotherapy can be used for three major purposes:
- Adjuvant therapy;
- Neo-adjuvant therapy;
- To treat metastatic disease;
The goal is to prevent or postpone cancer from coming back after the initial surgery and radiation. Even when the cancer seems to be confined to the breast and lymph glands under the arm, there is a chance that cells may have already spread to other areas that cannot be seen. Chemotherapy is given to try and kill these cells.
Sometimes the cancer in the breast is so big that shrinking it first with chemotherapy may make it easier to do surgery.
If the cancer shows up in parts of the body other than the breast and lymph glands under the arm, it is called metastatic disease. Chemotherapy can be one of the main ways to kill cancer cells that have spread to other parts of the body, and help woman live longer with good quality of life.
When to start chemotherapy, what drugs to use, and what side effects to expect varies from woman to woman. Women should discuss this with their doctors.
Breast Cancer Chemotherapy drugs are usually given in 2-4 week cycles. In adjuvant and neo-adjuvant settings, they are usually given in combinations of two or more drugs. Breast cancer chemo is given either by mouth or injected into a vein daily, weekly, or every 2-4 weeks. some women stay in the hospital overnight to receive chemotherapy intravenously, others receive chemotherapy for an hour once a day for a week in their doctor’s office. Some patients receive chemotherapy in pill form.
Adjuvant chemotherapy usually begins after recovery from surgery and before radiation treatment and lasts 4-6 months.
Side Effects of Breast Cancer Chemotherapy
Breast cancer chemo treatments and radiation therapy destroy constantly dividing cancer cells. But they also may affect healthy cells. Medicines used with self-help methods can help ease many of these side effects. Chemo side effects for breast cancer depend on the drugs you receive. Common side effects include hair loss, nausea, vomiting, fever and frequent infections. It is important to tell your doctor if you are having any problems with these or other side effects not listed:
- Nausea and vomiting;
- Loss of appetite;
- Fatigue;
- Hair loss;
- Weight gain
- Premature menopause;
- Lowered resistance to infections;
either the day of treatment, or more commonly, several days after. Nausea on the day of treatment is usually well-controlled, but delayed nausea is harder.
is the most common symptom that patients notice and they often do not tell the doctor.
Mouth soreness.
Whether the hair falls out all at once, gradually, or not at all depends on what drugs are given.
If you are planning to have children, you should discuss this with your doctor before starting chemotherapy, as there may be ways to prevent your periods from stopping or to save ovary tissue.
Many chemotherapy drugs lower the white blood cell counts in the week or so after treatment. If the blood counts are very low, then an infection can be dangerous.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses drugs to destroy cancer cells. If your cancer has a high chance of returning or spreading to another part of your body, your doctor may recommend chemotherapy after surgery to decrease the chance that the cancer will recur. This is known as adjuvant systemic chemotherapy.
Chemo is sometimes given before surgery in women with larger breast tumors. Doctors call this neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The goal is to shrink a tumor to a size that makes it easier to remove with surgery. This may also increase the chance of a cure. Research is ongoing into neoadjuvant chemotherapy to determine who may benefit from this treatment.
Chemo is also used in women whose cancer has already spread to other parts of the body. Chemotherapy may be recommended to try to control the cancer and decrease any symptoms the cancer is causing.
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