How to treat breast cancer

How to treat breast cancer? Many breast cancer patients have this question in their minds: how to treat breast cancer? When it comes to the treatment of breast cancer, many people may be able to give a general idea, but they don’t know the specific details. The occurrence of this disease brings great harm to patients, so we need to learn more about the treatment of breast cancer. The following is a detailed introduction to how to treat breast cancer.

With the deepening of understanding of the biological behavior of breast cancer and the transformation and updating of treatment concepts, the treatment of breast cancer has entered the era of comprehensive treatment, forming a treatment model that emphasizes both local and systemic treatment of breast cancer. Doctors will use a variety of methods such as surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, biological targeted therapy, and adjuvant therapy of traditional Chinese medicine according to the stage of the tumor and the patient's physical condition. Surgery plays an important role in the diagnosis, staging and comprehensive treatment of breast cancer. Radiotherapy uses radiation to destroy the growth and reproduction of cancer cells, thereby controlling and eliminating cancer cells. Surgery and radiotherapy are both local treatments. Chemotherapy is a treatment method that uses anticancer drugs to inhibit the division of cancer cells and destroy cancer cells, referred to as chemotherapy.

Endocrine therapy is the use of drugs or removal of endocrine glands to regulate the body's endocrine function and reduce the secretion of endocrine hormones, thereby achieving the purpose of treating breast cancer. Molecular targeted therapy is one of the most active research areas in recent years. Compared with chemotherapy drugs, it is a new type of anti-tumor therapeutic drug with a multi-link mechanism of action. Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes the principles of regulation and balance in the treatment of tumors, restoring and enhancing the body's internal disease resistance, thereby achieving the purpose of yin and yang balance to treat tumors. Chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, targeted therapy and traditional Chinese medicine treatment are all systemic treatments. During the treatment process, the doctor will take into account the patient's local treatment and systemic treatment, strive to cure patients with early and mid-stage breast cancer, and prolong the life of advanced patients and improve their quality of life.

Surgical procedures for breast cancer include two parts: the breast and axillary lymph nodes. Breast surgery includes breast-conserving surgery (breast-conserving surgery) and total mastectomy. Axillary lymph node surgery includes sentinel lymph node biopsy and axillary lymph node dissection. Sentinel lymph node biopsy is to remove only the sentinel lymph nodes, and then perform axillary lymph node dissection after detecting sentinel lymph node metastasis. Some people also call it axillary-conserving surgery.

Breast-conserving surgery has strict surgical indications, and currently not all breast cancer patients can undergo breast-conserving surgery. Breast-conserving surgery is not suitable for breast-conserving surgery, and breasts need to be removed. Doctors can use plastic surgery techniques to reconstruct the breasts. Breast reconstruction can be done with autologous tissue or with prostheses. Breast reconstruction can be done at the same time as tumor removal surgery, or after treatment, when all reexamination results are normal. Breast reconstruction will not affect the overall treatment of breast cancer.