Stage 3 breast cancer is still localized to the breast and the lymph nodes in the arm pit and surrounding the breast. Most often doctors will utilize a combination of treatments to the patient. The common treatments are surgery, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy and radiation. If the cancer is Her2 sensitive the patient may also receive treatment with Herceptin.
Surgery is the initial treatment for many women. This can take the form of a mastectomy, in which the whole breast is removed or a lumpectomy where only the tumor and the surrounding tissue is removed. The surgeon also would remove any lymph nodes that are effected. After surgery many patients elect to have reconstructive surgery. In some cases surgery is not an option and chemotherapy is the main treatment.
Chemotherapy can be used to treat stage 3 breast cancer before or after surgery. Before surgery chemotherapy serves to shrink the cancer to make it easier to remove. After surgery chemotherapy serves to kill any cancer cells that remain. If you’ve had chemotherapy before surgery you would still need to receive it after surgery.
Hormonal therapy is used for women whose cancers are estrogen receptor positive. There are a number of drugs that are used to block the cancers receiving estrogen. These drugs include tamoxifen, Arimidex, Aromasin, and Femara. Hormone therapy can be used after surgery or can be used before surgery to reduce the size of the tumor. Tamoxifen is used with premenopausal women. Premenopausal patients may also choose to have their ovaries removed or to take drugs to suppress the production of estrogen. Arimidex, Aromasin and Femara are used with post menopausal women.Like chemotherapy, hormone therapy may become the primary treatment if surgery is not possible.
Radiation therapy is another common method of treating stage 3 breast cancer. It is used to kill any cancer cells missed by surgery.
There are some other treatments available to patients with stage 3 breast cancer. Some of them are still only available in clinical trials but others like herceptin which is used to breast cancer patients whose tumor are her2 positive are available now. Her2 positive cancers have an excess of the her2 protein which helps them spread quickly. Herceptin blocks the creation of the her2 protein so chemotherapy can be more effectively.
The treatment of stage 3 breast cancer often involves multiple treatment methods. Though surgery is often the initial treatment, other treatments like chemo therapy, hormonal therapy and radiation are used to supplement surgery and hopefully increase survival rates.
