Breast
Cancer Treatment When a woman feels a breast lump or when routine mammograms
show a suspicious lesion, it is usually removed by surgical excision (lumpectomy)
or else a number of breast biopsies are done and the material is sent to the pathologist
for histological analysis. If the breast biopsy sample is positive for breast
cancer, the staging tests are done with blood tests, CT or MRI scans. Stage
I and II breast cancer: In 1991 there has been a consensus conference
among oncologist. It was decided that a breast conserving excision of the
tumor (lumpectormy) followed by radiation therapy to the surgical site would be
an appropriate method for treating the majority of women with stage I and II breast
cancer. This treatment has been shown to provide equivalent survival as
the more radical and disfiguring total mastectomy and axillary dissection. The
value of postsurgical radiation of the surrounding tissue and the axillary region
has been shown in a study with 8 years follow-up. Two comparable groups of stage
I and II breast cancer patients were either treated with radiotherapy following
surgery or not. The radiotherapy treated group had a local recurrence of only
10% after 8 years, the untreated group had a 39% local recurrence. Radiotherapy
provided a 29% survival advantage, which is considered quite significant. It is
generally assumed that residual microscopic breast cancer tissue, left behind
in normal looking lymph glands, likely is eradicated with the radiotherapy. Stage
III breast cancer, where there is local metastatic involvement of
the axillary lymph glands, has to be treated with a combined treatment modality
to improve survival. This consists of chemotherapy (fluorouracil, doxorubin and
cyclophosphamide) followed by surgery and radiotherapy. In future there might
be further cycles of chemotherapy to control reoccurrences. Using this combined
approach impressive 5-year survival rates have been achieved. The more localized
stage IIIA patients have a 5-year survival of 71%-84%, with further spread of
breast cancer in stage IIIB patients the survival rate drops to 33% to 44%. With
stage IV patients only combination chemotherapy can be used as a
treatment form. But as the immune system often is severely compromised, there
are limitations as to how aggressive the oncologist can be with the cytotoxic
chemicals. Paclitaxel(brand name: Taxol), derived from the needles and
bark of the Pacific yew tree, Taxus brevifolia, is a mitotic spindle poison and
interferes with cell division. It has been shown in studies that it is effective
in slowing cancer growth in advanced ovarian and breast cancer. This medication
is being combined with various chemotherapeutic agents to extend the advanced
stage IV patient's lives by a few months, but in some cases it has even lead to
long term remissions. There has been an extensive worlwide analysis ( a
"metaanalysis")of several breast cancer trials, which revealed the following
guidelines regarding survival and cancer remissions (Ref. 1 and 3): 10
year follow-up studies are more desirable, but show similar survival benefits
as 5-year survival studies. In other words a good therapy shows up already at
5 years, but is even more impressive at 10 years. -
Using triple
chemotherapy the annual survival rate for breast cancer increases by 15% every
year, even for women above the 50 year age mark. Triple chemotherapy consists
of cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and fluorouracil , which is started 4 weeks
following surgery for 6 months, after which a pause 6 months will follow. This
is alternated until remission is achieved. -
Estrogen receptor positive
tumors (the pathologist checks for the estrogen receptors on the surface of the
cancer cells on the material removed by the surgeon when requested) are treated
with tamoxifen (brand names: Tamofen, Nolvadex, Tamone). In a group of stage IV
breast cancer patients after 2 years of tamoxifen therapy with 20 mg daily there
was a 21% survival improvement (overall 33% survival) over 10 years, which compares
to 11% overall survival over 10 years for estrogen receptor negative tumors. -
Patients with similar breast cancers, but negative axillary lymph glands versus
patients with positive axillary lymph glands in the control group, show a twofold
better survival rate! Pain relief: There is an FDA
approved non-drug method available, IceWave
patches from Lifewave, which will control pain. This is mentioned in the
book "Breakthrough" by Suzanne Somers (Ref. 6) where newer insights
of antiaging medicine are also reviewed. Although the patches are placed over
acupuncture points, there are no needles involved. Nanotechnology, a newer technology,
was used in the manufacturing of these patches and infrared (heat) waves from
body heat are utilized to stimulate an acupuncture point, which modifies pain
perception and reduces pain to half or less. Medically this would be considered
an excellent pain reliever. For more info on the patches see the IceWave patches
from Lifewave link above (click "products"). In the US a 5 pack of the
IceWave spray is available that can be directly sprayed onto the skin in the area
where the pain is located. Click here for more
info regarding breast cancer treatment. |
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