Breast Cancer

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Patient Information About Breast Cancer
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Breast Cancer Treatment

Treatment depends on the stage of the disease and includes the following:

• Surgery
• Radiation Therapy
• Chemotherapy
• Hormone Therapy
• Biological Therapy

Surgery
Surgery combined with radiation and/or chemotherapy is the most common treatment for breast cancer. The type of surgical procedure recommended to the patient depends on the stage of the disease. Mastectomy and lumpectomy are the most commonly performed procedures.

Radiation Therapy
Radiation uses high-energy x-rays to destroy cancer cells. Treatment is delivered by a machine outside the body (called external radiation) or by radioactive "seeds" that are placed directly into the tumor (called brachytherapy). Breast cancer is usually treated using external radiation.

Radiation may be used to shrink the tumor before surgery (called neoadjuvant therapy) or may be used after surgery to destroy cancer cells that remain in the breast, chest wall, or underarm (called adjuvant therapy).

Radiation therapy is performed in a hospital or outpatient center. Each treatment lasts a few minutes and treatment is usually given 5 days per week, for 6 weeks. Side effects include fatigue, reddening of the skin, and swelling.

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment (travels throughout the body via the bloodstream) that often uses a combination of drugs to slow tumor growth and destroy cancer cells. Drugs may be administered orally or intravenously (through an IV). Chemotherapy is often used as adjuvant therapy to destroy breast cancer cells that have metastasized to the lymph nodes. It also is used to shrink the tumor prior to surgery (neoadjuvant therapy) and as primary treatment.

The combination most commonly prescribed to treat breast cancer is doxorubicin (Doxil®) and cyclophosphamide (Cytoxin®). Paclitaxel (Taxol®, or the generic form, Paxene®) is often prescribed after this combination treatment, when breast cancer has metastasized to the lymph nodes. It is also prescribed following breast cancer surgery. Other chemotherapy drugs include docetaxel (Taxotere®) and gemcitabine (Gemzar®).

Side effects are often severe and include the following:

• Fatique
• Fever
• Hair loss (alopecia)
• Infection
• Low blood cell count (e.g., anemia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia)
• Nausea

Ixabepilone (Ixempra®) was approved by the FDA in October 2007 to treat advanced breast cancer that has not responded to other chemotherapy drugs. Ixempra is approved for use alone, or in combination with capecitabine (Xeloda®). It should not be used in patients who have liver damage. Side effects include numbness and tingling in the hands and feet, bone marrow suppression, nausea, fatigue, and bone pain.

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Breast Cancer Resources

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