When choosing a treatment for breast cancer, a person has a lot to think about. Sometimes there may be more than one possible venue of treatment a patient has to choose from. Other times, there may be only one treatment that would be considered “the best” by the physician. In order to develop a treatment plan that will fit a breast cancer patient’s needs, the doctor must consider certain variables. Some of these variables include: size and location of the tumor in the breast, results of lab tests, the stage of the cancer, the person’s age, menopausal status, general health, and the size of the breasts in question.

The methods of treatment that are used for breast cancer can be divided into two major categories: local therapies and systemic therapies. Local therapies are used to treat the main breast tumor by removing or destroying the cancer cells in a specific area. Surgery and radiation therapy are examples of local therapies. The second therapy is systemic therapy. These therapies are used to control or destroy cancer cells throughout the body by being administered directly into the blood stream. Chemotherapy and hormonal therapy are systemic treatments.

Lumpectomy—The lump and some of the surrounding breast tissue is removed.
Partial mastectomy—The tumor and up to one-fourth of the breast is removed.
Total (simple) mastectomy—The entire breast is removed.
Modified radical mastectomy—The entire breast, the underarm lymph nodes and the lining covering the chest muscles, but not the muscles themselves, are removed.
Radical mastectomy—The breast, lymph nodes in the armpit and the chest muscles are removed.
Radiation therapy—High-energy rays from radioactive material is used to kill and prevent the spreading of cancer cells. Radioactive material can be directed at the breast by a machine (external radiation). Or it can be placed directly in the breast in thin plastic tubes (internal radiation).
Chemotherapy—It is usually a combination of drugs given either by injection or mouth. It is given in cycles with a treatment period followed by a recovery period. The total course lasts three to six months.
Hormonal Therapy—It is used to keep cancer cells from getting the hormones they need to grow. Hormonal therapy may include the use of drugs to change the way hormones work, or surgery to remove the ovaries.

This is the most important part of treatment. After a patient’s traumatic surgery, a health care team works in an attempt to help the patient return to their normal activities. Recovery is different for each woman. Some of this variability depends on the extent of the disease and the type of treatment used to treat the cancer. For a woman who has just undergone surgery, the best rehabilitation is exercise.

Exercising after the surgery can help a woman regain motion and strength in her arm and shoulder. It can also reduce the stiffness in the back and neck that often follows surgery. A woman can begin exercising when the doctor determines that she is ready—which is approximately a day or two after surgery. At first, the woman should begin exercising slowly, gradually working up to more active and regular exercising routines.

The prospect of losing a breast can be emotionally as well as physically traumatic for a woman. When a woman’s breast is removed she may feel a loss of femininity or a lack of being complete. Fortunately, due to the advances of medical technology, a woman can have a breast reconstructed that closely matches the opposite, natural breast. There are now a few options that a patient may choose from either at the time of mastectomy or at a later date. These options may include implant replacement (either saline or silicone), tissue expansion, or the use of the body’s own tissue—which is also called flap reconstruction. To get an explanation of the different types of reconstruction, look at the chart below!!

Tram Flap—The most common type of flap, which uses the skin and fat from the lower abdomen. The advantage of this procedure is that it results in a tummy tuck.	Tissue Expansion—This procedure involves the placement of an expandable balloon underneath the skin and muscle. Then, gradually, the balloon is inflated with saline to stretch the skin and muscle.
Latissimus Dorsi Flap—This flap uses the skin and muscles from the woman’s back. Because this flap lacks bulk, an implant is often used.

Following the reconstruction of the breast mound and after the healing of the tissue, the nipple and areolar can begin to be reconstructed by using local skin from distant parts of the body. After the nipple and areolar are constructed, a tattooing of the skin may be performed in order to darken the newly developed nipple-areolar complex. After all the procedures are completed, the woman will have a new breast that matches the other.