What are safe treatment and recovery options for breast cancer?

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I read your query and understood your concern.

I am very sorry that you found out about your cancer diagnosis. I know how scary and frightening that is. I also understand the stress you have been under and that your family is going through it with you at the same time.

I want to tell you that the earlier we deal with things, the better the outcome. Because you are young, your chance of responding well to treatment is much higher. Also, because your tumor is hormone-positive, that is a good sign; hormonal treatment usually works very well.

I want to reassure you: do not worry. Cancer is not as scary as it used to be. There are many medicines and many different options now, suitable for every age and situation.

The most important question I want to ask you is: are you married, and do you have children? This question is very important. Please send me your answer because it will affect some of the things we do.

I will explain the treatment steps and stages in detail. At each stage, I will tell you exactly what we will do. We will start with the surgery, which is the stage we are moving toward now.

Surgery includes removing the tumor from the breast and taking out any lymph nodes that may be affected. After the surgery, we will be able to tell whether any cancer cells have reached the lymph nodes and how many nodes are involved.

If we find affected lymph nodes, we usually recommend adding radiation therapy after the operation. In some cases, we also add chemotherapy, depending on how advanced the disease is and the tumor size.

If the tumor is small and has not spread to the lymph nodes, hormonal therapy alone is usually enough. This treatment lasts for about five years; it is just one tablet a day.

The side effects of hormonal therapy are usually mild, such as mild hot flushes or vaginal dryness. You may also need to take calcium supplements, but the treatment does not affect your hair or cause major issues. As I mentioned, hormonal therapy continues for five years.

It is also important for me to know whether you have children. This helps us decide some details of the treatment. Chemotherapy or targeted therapy will be discussed later, only if we find that you need them.

After surgery, we also do genetic tests. One on the tumor itself and another on your own body.

1. The test done on your body is called the BRCA (breast cancer gene) test, which helps us know whether there is a genetic risk of recurrence and which targeted treatments might be most effective for you later.

2. Another test called Oncotype DX is done on the tumor tissue to measure how aggressive it is and to decide whether chemotherapy is necessary.

I hope my explanation is clear and has helped ease your worries. Do not be anxious, things usually go smoothly, and treatment is not as hard as people imagine. Any side effects that happen during treatment can usually be reversed easily. Even hair loss from chemotherapy grows back once the treatment ends.

As I mentioned, please let me know if you have children and share more about your family history. I wish you health and recovery

I hope that this answers your query.

Kindly follow up if you have more doubts.

Thank you.