Breast Cancer Facts You Need To Know (Part V)
IV. Types of therapeutic procedures used to manage the pathology
The types of therapeutic procedures used in managing breast cancer are surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, biological therapy and clinical trials.
Surgery may be lumpectomy or mastectomy. Lumpectomy is performed if the tumor is small. Usually, it is done with radiation therapy as follow up procedure. This type of surgery saves much of the breast since only the lump and the surrounding areas are removed. Mastectomy on the other hand removes other parts of the breast, not just the lump and the surrounding tissues. Partial or segmental mastectomy removes the tumor and some of the breast tissues. Simple mastectomy removes all the breast tissues and modified radical mastectomy removes the entire breast (Treatments and Drugs 2009).
Radiation therapy uses high energy beams to damage the DNA of the cancer cells which they use in multiplying and growing. However it also damages the normal cells if they are in the path of the beam. Nevertheless, using radiation therapy, the cancer cells are not able to repair themselves as well as the normal cells. This is why it is mostly recommended in management of cancer. Radiation is delivered to the body and from outside the body by the linear accelerator machine. Another way is through seeds or pellets that emit radiation from inside the body (How Radiation Works 2008). Imaging procedures used to assist treatment planning for radiation therapy includes ultrasound and MRI. In some cases, ultrasound is used alongside radiation in thermal therapy or hyperthermia. Here the ultrasound heats the cancer cells to make them more sensitive to radiation (How Radiation Works 2008). According to the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, MRI scan can now be used instead of surgery in determining if there is a need for radiation therapy in the treatment of breast cancer. This changed the standard management for breast cancer wherein radiation therapy is given after surgery and before chemotherapy. Now with the help of MRI, it can now be determined if the patient will need radiation therapy and how much radiation therapy she should receive (Breast MRI Scan 2008).
The types of therapeutic procedures used in managing breast cancer are surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, biological therapy and clinical trials.
Surgery may be lumpectomy or mastectomy. Lumpectomy is performed if the tumor is small. Usually, it is done with radiation therapy as follow up procedure. This type of surgery saves much of the breast since only the lump and the surrounding areas are removed. Mastectomy on the other hand removes other parts of the breast, not just the lump and the surrounding tissues. Partial or segmental mastectomy removes the tumor and some of the breast tissues. Simple mastectomy removes all the breast tissues and modified radical mastectomy removes the entire breast (Treatments and Drugs 2009).
Radiation therapy uses high energy beams to damage the DNA of the cancer cells which they use in multiplying and growing. However it also damages the normal cells if they are in the path of the beam. Nevertheless, using radiation therapy, the cancer cells are not able to repair themselves as well as the normal cells. This is why it is mostly recommended in management of cancer. Radiation is delivered to the body and from outside the body by the linear accelerator machine. Another way is through seeds or pellets that emit radiation from inside the body (How Radiation Works 2008). Imaging procedures used to assist treatment planning for radiation therapy includes ultrasound and MRI. In some cases, ultrasound is used alongside radiation in thermal therapy or hyperthermia. Here the ultrasound heats the cancer cells to make them more sensitive to radiation (How Radiation Works 2008). According to the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, MRI scan can now be used instead of surgery in determining if there is a need for radiation therapy in the treatment of breast cancer. This changed the standard management for breast cancer wherein radiation therapy is given after surgery and before chemotherapy. Now with the help of MRI, it can now be determined if the patient will need radiation therapy and how much radiation therapy she should receive (Breast MRI Scan 2008).
Comments