The treatment of breast cancer depends on many factors. These include the stage of the cancer; your age; whether or not you have had the menopause (change of life); and the grade of the cancer. Whether the cancer cells have receptors for certain hormones on their surface is also important. Receptors are proteins which particular…
Biological therapy is known by many terms. These include immunologic therapy, immunotherapy or biotherapy. Biological therapy is a type of treatment that uses the body’s immune system to facilitate the killing of cancer cells. Types of biological therapy include interferon, interleukin, monoclonal antibodies, colony stimulating factors or cytokines and vaccines. Trastuzumab (Herceptin) as a treatment…
Radiotherapy treats cancer by using high-energy rays (radiation) which destroy the cancer cells, while doing as little harm as possible to normal cells. It only affects cells in the part of the body to which it is given. It is given in the radiotherapy department at the hospital. Radiotherapy can be given from an external…
Treatment options for metastasis are determined based on individual case and often focus on relieving symptoms. Depending on the type and extent of the metastases, systemic therapies—such as chemotherapy and hormonal therapy—can be effective in controlling breast cancer metastases. Regardless of where the cancer is now, it is still breast cancer that has spread to…
Hormones are substances that occur naturally in the body, where they control the growth and activity of normal cells. Female hormones, particularly oestrogen, can encourage the growth of some breast cancer cells. So, drugs which lower the level of oestrogen in the body, or that block oestrogen from attaching to the cancer cells are used…
Q: What is breast cancer? A: Breast cancer means a cancerous (causing infiltration and destruction of tissue) growth that originates in breast tissue. It’s a group of diseases caused by the growth of abnormal cells in the breast. The cancer cells form lumps, also called tumors. Left untreated, cancer cells can break away from the…
Chemotherapy is the use of anti-cancer drugs, known as cytotoxic drugs, to destroy cancer cells. The drugs travel in the bloodstream to attack cancer cells throughout the body. It is one of the most powerful tools we have to fight cancer. It kills cancer cells in the whole body by interfering with cell growth and…
