Living with breast cancer is not as difficult as you may think. Knowing your breast cancer status allows for effective management and treatment schedule.
How do I know the severity of my breast cancer?
Breast cancer has stages according to how severe it is. The stage of breast cancer tells you how big it is and how far it has spread. Staging of breast cancer is determined by factors, one of which is whether the cancer has spread to other parts of your body in a process called metastasis. Stages of breast cancer are:
Stage 0: The breast cancer is yet to leave your breast. It is non-invasive and hasn't spread to other body areas.
Stage 1: The cancer cells have spread to nearby breast tissue. This stage is highly treatable
Stage 2: In this stage, the cancer is either in the breast or in the nearby lymph nodes or both. It is an early stage breast cancer and can be arrested if detected on time.
Stage 3: Here the cancer has spread past the breast. It has invaded the lymph nodes, nearby tissues but hasn't travelled to distant body parts. This stage is also known as locally advanced breast cancer.
Stage 4: This is the final stage of breast cancer and is "not curable". The cancer cells have spread from where it originated to at least 1 body organ. This stage is also referred to as metastatic breast cancer
Is breast cancer treatable?
Breast cancer is very treatable if detected early. Localized breast cancer (meaning it hasn't spread outside your breast) can be treated before it spreads. Once the cancer begins to spread, treatment becomes more complicated, but can improve symptoms and prolong a person's lifespan.
There are different treatment regimen for breast cancer depending on the stage of breast cancer you are presenting with. Treatment of breast cancer can include:
Breast cancer surgery
This has to do with removal of the cancerous part of your breast. Depending on your situation, different types of breast cancer surgery can be done:
Lumpectomy: A partial mastectomy, lumpectomy removes the tumor in your breast and an area of normal tissue surrounding the tumor. This is called breast conserving surgery or a wide local excision and is usually done for stage 2 breast cancer.
Before your surgery, an ultrasound scan is carried out to check the lymph nodes in your underarm. This is to see if they contain cancerous cells.
Mastectomy: this is total removal of your entire breast ( the one affected with cancer). This treatment option is best for stage 0 breast cancer where the cancer is yet to spread to other body parts and is only found in your breast. Mastectomy is also done for stage 1,2 & 3.
Other breast cancer surgery include;
Axillary lymph node dissection
Modified radical mastectomy
Radical mastectomy
Sentinel node biopsy
After mastectomy, breast reconstruction can often be an option if desired.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is usually recommended as treatment option for breast cancer in an effort to shrink the tumor. It is also given sometimes after surgery to kill breast cancer cells that might still be remaining, thereby decreasing the risk for a reoccurrence.
Hormonal therapy
In cases where breast cancers make use of hormones to grow, hormone therapy is recommended to prevent reoccurrence.
Pharmacological treatment
The use of drugs to fight against specific cancerous cells.
Radiation therapy.
Early detection of breast cancer during the early stages allows for early treatment of breast cancer.