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Breast Cancer Treatment

The University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center follows the treatment guidelines of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

If breast cancer is diagnosed, the decision for type of treatment will be made by you and your health care provider. A surgeon or an oncologist may also be asked for recommendations.

Local and Systemic Therapy

Both local therapy and systemic therapy are used to treat breast cancer. Local therapy is intended to treat the tumor in the breast only. Surgery and radiation therapy are examples of local therapies.

Systemic therapy is given by mouth or directly into the bloodstream to reach cancer cells that may have spread beyond the breast. Examples of systemic therapy include chemotherapy or hormonal therapy.

Treatment Types

There are five types of standard treatment used for patients with breast cancer. Your physician may recommend one or more of the following as treatment:

• Surgery
• Chemotherapy
• Radiation therapy
• Hormone therapy
• Targeted therapy

Doctors, nurses, and other health care providers can teach you a lot about cancer and its treatment, so it's important have an honest, open conversation with your health care team.

When you find out you have cancer, it may feel as if your daily life is turned upside down. Learning about your cancer can help you feel more in control of a sometimes overwhelming situation and can also help you talk to your doctor about which treatments may be right for you.

Helpful Tips

• Ask your doctor and nurse as many questions as you need to.
• Ask someone to accompany you on your doctor visits.
• Take notes about what is discussed.
• Ask the doctor or nurse to write down the name, type and stage of your cancer so you can read more about it.
• Ask about getting a second opinion.

Resources

from our blog, mCancerTalk.org:

from national websites

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