Patients should ask their physicians and nurses questions regarding breast cancer treatment and recovery. Here are 10 questions to get you started.
Doctors use various criteria to stage cancer, including tumor size and whether or not it has spread elsewhere in your body (metastasized). These measures will ultimately determine your prognosis as well as eligibility for clinical trials that offer innovative therapies.
1. What is it?
Breast cancer occurs when abnormal cells within the breast lobules and ducts proliferate too rapidly and form a tumor, spreading to nearby blood vessels or lymph nodes.
Some cancers are hormonal receptor positive (ER+), progesterone receptor negative (PR-), or HER2 positive; therefore they require treatment with medicines to target these proteins or chemotherapy and targeted therapy directed against their tumor.
2. What are the symptoms?
Asking your physician or nurse questions about your diagnosis, treatment and recovery is key to understanding breast cancer better and receiving maximum benefit from any available therapies. This will allow for maximum understanding and ensure optimal treatment outcomes.
Breast cancer symptoms differ depending on who you ask; symptoms could include an unnoticeable lump or mass, changes to your nipple and cancer growing and spreading into other organs or tissues.
3. How do I know if I have it?
Breast cancer can only be accurately diagnosed through taking a tissue sample and having it tested at a laboratory – this process is known as biopsy.
Breast cancer typically begins in either milk-producing glands (lobules) or milk ducts that transport it directly to the nipple and spreads from there, but may also spread elsewhere in the body.
Your doctor will use staging to help assess your treatment options. Staging is a classification system for categorizing cancer according to how quickly its cells are growing.
4. What can I do about it?
Cancer is a disease in which cells divide uncontrollably without dying back, making the individual susceptible to cancer. Some factors, like age and genes, cannot be altered; however, lifestyle choices such as maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking and being careful when using oral contraceptives that may increase cancer risks could help lower this risk.
5. What is the treatment?
Breast cancer develops when normal cells in the breast begin to transform and multiply uncontrollably, forming an uncontrolled tumor. Over time, some of these cancerous cells may spread to other parts of the body.
Tests can identify the subtype of breast cancer, which impacts treatment decisions. Cancers which rely on estrogen and progesterone hormones to grow are known as hormone receptor positive (ER+).
Other breast cancers do not depend on these hormones to grow; these cancers are known as HER2-negative (HER2-).
6. What is the prognosis?
Breast cancer has one of the best prognoses among all cancer types when diagnosed early due to improved screening procedures, more effective tests, and treatments that offer greater hope.
Your prognosis depends on the grade and spread of your tumor to lymph nodes. Unfortunately, cancer recurrences may still happen even among individuals who appear to have good prognoses.
7. How do I know if I need treatment?
Treatment decisions for breast cancer depend on its type and stage. There are various treatment methods, each with their own possible adverse side effects.
Women may require a lymph node biopsy to assess whether their cancer has spread into lymph nodes. This procedure should be conducted by an expert and could even be called “sentinel node biopsy.”
Option treatments available to them:
8. What is the best treatment for me?
Your treatment options depend on your type of cancer and its stage, including its size and whether or not it has spread to lymph nodes. Other important considerations may include genetic tests and family history.
Treatment options may include chemotherapy or radiation. Other strategies include lumpectomy or mastectomy as well as medications targeting HER2 receptors that may lead to fatigue, hair loss, skin issues and nausea among other side effects.
9. What is the risk of recurrence?
Breast cancer can recur, sometimes years or months later, after treatment has ended. It may resurface locally within the breast area or on your chest wall tissue; or in lymph nodes near its original tumor site.
Recurrence depends on several factors related to breast cancer and risk factors; lifestyle habits like maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly may help lower these risks.