Early breast cancer is usually treated with surgery, with or without radiotherapy. Hormonal therapy and chemotherapy may also be used. Every woman’s situation is different. Treatment that is suitable for one woman may not be suitable for another.
The treatments usually offered to women with early breast cancer are briefly outlined below:
Breast surgery for breast cancer involves breast conserving surgery or mastectomy.
Breast conserving surgery is surgery to remove the breast cancer and a small area of healthy tissue around it. This is also called a lumpectomy,complete local excision, or wide local excision.
Mastectomy is surgery to remove the whole breast. Both types of breast surgery usually also involve axillary dissection, which is surgery to remove some lymph nodes from the armpit.
A new surgical procedure called sentinel node biopsy is currently being researched. This involves removing a smaller number of lymph nodes.
Radiotherapy is used to help destroy any cancer cells that may be left in the breast or chest after surgery. Radiotherapy is recommended after breast conserving surgery, and sometimes recommended after mastectomy.
Systemic treatments are also called adjuvant treatments or additional treatments. They work on the whole body to control cancer, and help destroy breast cancer cells that may have spread outside the breast and armpit area but cannot be detected. Systemic treatments include hormonal therapy and chemotherapy.
Hormonal therapies, such as tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors, may be used in addition to breast surgery with or without radiotherapy. Hormonal therapies benefit women who have estrogen (oestrogen) receptors and/or progesterone receptors on their cancer cells. Your doctor will read your pathology report to find out whether or not these receptors are on your cancer cells. Hormonal therapies work by changing the way that female hormones work in the body.
Chemotherapy may be used in addition to breast surgery (with or without other treatments, including radiotherapy and hormonal therapies). Chemotherapy is usually given to women who are at risk of some cancer cells having spread outside the breast and armpit area. For example, it might be offered to women who have cancer in one or more lymph nodes in the armpit, or cancer that is high grade.
