Since the 1970's, progress in both early detection and treatment of breast cancer has led to significant improvement in survival rates among people of all ages and races, and with all stages of disease. Between 1990 and 2004, mortality from breast cancer declined an average of 2.2 percent per year as a result of these advances [1].
The goal of treating breast cancer is to get rid of the cancer as completely as possible and prevent it from returning. This is usually done with some combination of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy and/or targeted therapy (such as Herceptin).
Surgery and radiation therapy are called local treatments because they aim to remove cancer from a limited (local) area, such as the breast, chest wall and lymph nodes in the armpit (axillary nodes). Chemotherapy, hormonal therapy and targeted therapy make up what is called systemic therapy. With these therapies, the entire body is treated to get rid of or disable any cancer cells that may have spread from the breast to other areas of the body.
Your specific treatment plan will depend on many factors, such as your age, the type of breast cancer you have and the characteristics of the tumor. However, deciding on a particular treatment can be as much a personal matter as it is a medical one. Each treatment option has risks and benefits, as well as side effects that you must weigh in relation to your personal values and lifestyle.
To learn more about factors that affect treatment options, see the Diagnosis section.
Updated 07/28/08
