Breast Cancer : Treatment and Research

by National Institute on Aging

(Page 3 of 5)

There are many treatment options for women with breast cancer. The choice of treatment depends on your age and general health, the stage of the cancer, whether or not it has spread beyond the breast, and other factors.

Treatment and Research - Planning Treatment

If tests show that you have cancer, you should talk with your doctor and make treatment decisions as soon as possible. Studies show that early treatment leads to better outcomes.

People with cancer often are treated by a team of specialists. The team will keep the primary doctor informed about the patient's progress. The team may include a medical oncologist who is a specialist in cancer treatment, a surgeon, a radiation oncologist who is a specialist in radiation therapy, and others.

Before starting treatment, you may want another doctor to review the diagnosis and treatment plan. Some insurance companies require a second opinion. Others may pay for a second opinion if you request it.

Some breast cancer patients take part in studies of new treatments. These studies, called clinical trials, are designed to find out whether a new treatment is both safe and effective.

What is a Clinical Trial? Often, clinical trials compare a new treatment with a standard one so that doctors can learn which is more effective. Women with breast cancer who are interested in taking part in a clinical trial should talk to their doctor.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health, through its National Library of Medicine and other Institutes, maintains a database of clinical trials at ClinicalTrials.gov.

Quiz

1. Women with breast cancer are often treated by only their primary doctor.

FALSE is the correct answer. Women with cancer often are treated by a team of specialists who keep the primary doctor informed. They may include a medical oncologist who is a specialist in cancer treatment, a surgeon, a radiation oncologist who is a specialist in radiation therapy, and others.

2. Doctors sometimes recommend that you get a second opinion if you are diagnosed with breast cancer.

TRUE is the correct answer. Before starting treatment, you may want another doctor to review the diagnosis and treatment plan.

3. The purpose of a clinical trial is to determine if a new treatment will be safe and effective.

TRUE is the correct answer. Clinical trials are research studies in which new treatments - drugs, diagnostics, procedures, vaccines, and other therapies - are tested in people to see if they are safe and effective.

4. Clinical trials often compare older versus newer treatments.

TRUE is the correct answer. Clinical trials often compare a new treatment with a standard one so that doctors can learn which is more effective.

What is Staging?

Once breast cancer has been found, it is staged. Staging means determining how far the cancer has progressed. Through staging, the doctor can tell if the cancer has spread and, if so, to what parts of the body. More tests may be performed to help determine the stage. Knowing the stage of the disease helps the doctor plan treatment.

Staging will let the doctor know

• the size of the tumor and exactly where it is in the breast
• if the cancer has spread within the breast
• if cancer is present in the lymph nodes under the arm
• if cancer is present in other parts of the body

Here are the stages of breast cancer

Stage 0 - This is very early breast cancer that has not spread within or outside the breast. Doctors often refer to this type of cancer as in situ or non-invasive cancer.

Stage I and stage II also are early stages of breast cancer. Stage I means that the tumor has not spread beyond the breast. In stage II, the tumor may be larger and may have spread to the lymph nodes.

Stage III is called locally advanced cancer. Here the tumor has spread beyond the breast to lymph nodes or to other tissues near the breast.

Stage IV is metastatic cancer. In this stage the cancer has spread beyond the breast and the underarm lymph nodes to other parts of the body, most often the bones, lungs, liver, or brain.

The choice of treatment is based on many factors. For stage I, II or III cancers, the main goals are to treat the cancer and prevent it from coming back, either at the place where the tumor first occurred or elsewhere in the body. For stage IV cancer, the goal is to improve symptoms and prolong survival.

About the Author

www.nia.nih.gov
NIA, one of the 27 Institutes and Centers of NIH, leads a broad scientific effort to understand the nature of aging and to extend the healthy, active years of life. In 1974, Congress granted authority to form NIA to provide leadership in aging research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs relevant to aging and older people.