Breast cancer is a type of cancer that is caused by groups of cancer cells that may spread to surrounding tissues or distant areas of the body that originate in cells in the breast.
As of right now there are four standard ways of treating breast cancer: surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy. There are several different surgeries that can be preformed to remove the cancerous cells. Lumpectomy is surgery in which the tumor and a small amount of tissue around it is removed. Partial mastectomy is surgery to remove an entire part of the breast that has cancer and some tissues around it, this surgery is also referred to as a segmental mastectomy. Total mastectomy is surgery to remove the whole breast that has cancer. Modified radical mastectomy is surgery to remove the whole breast that has cancer and many of the lymph nodes under the arm. This surgery also removes the lining over the chest muscles and sometimes part of the chest wall muscles. Radical mastectomy is the same surgery but removes all lymph nodes under the arm. Patients who are treated may have lymph nodes under the arm removed for biopsy. This procedure is called lymph node dissection. It is preformed through a separate incision.
Radiation therapy is the second type of treatment. This procedure uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or to keep them from growing. There is external radiation therapy that uses a machine outside the body to send radiation inside to the cancer. There is also internal radiation that uses a radioactive substance that are put into needles, wires, or catheters that are placed directly into the cancer or close to it. This type of radiation therapy is given depending on the type and stage of the cancer being treated.
Chemotherapy is the third type of treatment available. This treatment uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer