Breast Cancer Treatments

By Brianna McFadden

Breast cancer treatments can be divided into three major and broad divisions: regional, systematic, and alternative. All three divisions have appropriate stages at wh1ch they can be prescribed, as well as different sub-divisions.

Regional breast cancer treatments refer to anyth1ng that is restricted to a specific area of the body, such as lymph nodes or the area around the breast. The two most common forms of breast cancer treatments in th1s category are mastectomy and breast preservation therapy.

Breast Cancer Treatments

Mastectomy is a treatment wherein the entire breast is removed. Occasionally, after the mastectomy is completed, radiation will be applied to the area where the breast once was. Mastectomy was previously one of the only breast cancer treatments available, being the only option for any stage of breast cancer.
Breast preservation therapy is similar to mastectomy, however only part of the breast tissue is removed. Th1s is generally referred to as a lumpectomy, the removal of the cancerous lump. These breast cancer treatments are also followed by radiation of the area removed.

Systematic breast cancer treatments are used to cleanse the body of any cancer cells that may have spread to any other parts of the body. Hormonal treatments, chemotherapies, and immune therapy are all systematic breast cancer treatments.
Alternative and holistic breast cancer treatments focus on treating the symptoms of breast cancer, improving quality of life, and ease the side effects of other treatments. These breast cancer treatments are often used in correlation with other treatments.