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A visual guide to breast cancer - Part 2
Hormone-Sensitive Breast Cancer
Some types of breast cancer are fueled by the hormones estrogen or progesterone. Your doctor will call these receptors -- they’re proteins that pick up signals from the hormone that tell cells to grow. A biopsy can show if a tumor has receptors for estrogen (it’s ER-positive) and progesterone (it’s PR-positive). About 2 out of 3 breast cancers are hormone sensitive. There are several medications that keep the hormones from causing further cancer growth.
The image shows a molecular model of an estrogen receptor.
HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
In about 20% of patients, breast cancer cells have too much of a protein called HER2/neu. This type is known as HER2-positive, and it tends to spread faster than other forms It’s important to know whether a tumor is HER2-positive, because there are special treatments for this type of cancer.
A HER2-positive cell is illustrated here. Growth signals that are not normal are shown in green.
Breast Cancer Stages
If breast cancer is the diagnosis, the next step is to figure out how big the tumor is and how much of your body it affects. This process is called staging. Doctors use stages 0-IV to describe whether cancer is only in the breast, or if it has moved into nearby lymph nodes or spread to other organs, like the lungs. Knowing the stage and type of breast cancer will help your health care team create a treatment plan.
Survival Rates
The odds of beating breast cancer are strongly tied to how early you find it. The American Cancer Society says 100% of women with stage I breast cancer live at least 5 years, and many women in this group remain cancer-free for good. The more advanced the cancer, the lower this figure becomes. By Stage IV, the 5-year survival rate drops to 22%. But these rates will rise as more effective treatments are found.
Breast Cancer Surgery
There are many types of breast cancer surgery, from taking out the area around the lump (lumpectomy or breast-conserving surgery) to removing the entire breast (mastectomy.) Talk about the pros and cons of each with your doctor to decide what’s right for you.
Radiation Therapy
This treatment kills cancer cells with high-energy rays. It may be used after breast cancer surgery to wipe out any cancer cells that remain near the tumor site. It might be paired with chemotherapy to treat cancer that has spread to other body parts. Side effects include fatigue and swelling or a sunburn-like feeling where you were treated.
Chemotherapy
This treatment uses drugs to kill cancer cells anywhere in the body. They’re often given by IV, but they can be taken by mouth or a shot. You might have it before surgery to shrink a large tumor or after to lower the odds of your cancer coming back. In women with advanced breast cancer, chemo can help control the cancer’s growth. Side effects may include hair loss, nausea, fatigue, and a higher risk of infection.
Hormone Therapy
This is for women with ER-positive or PR-positive breast cancer. These cancers grow faster in response to the hormones estrogen or progesterone. Hormone therapy can block this effect. It might be used after surgery to help keep the cancer from coming back. Doctors sometimes give it to women with high risk factors to reduce the chances of getting breast cancer.
From webMD
