Treatment

In the past twenty years, great improvements have been made in the treatment of breast cancer. As a result, the number of breast cancer survivors continues to increase. And now there are over two million survivors alive today! Although each person's treatment will be slightly different, it generally involves some combination of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy and/or targeted therapy (such as Herceptin). Deciding on a particular treatment is as much a personal matter as it is a medical one. In this section of Understanding Breast Cancer, we describe each treatment option and its benefits and risks.

Introduction