Breast Cancer Treatment - Systemic Therapy
Once a woman knows she has breast cancer, there are two key elements for her treatment that can be separated into “local control” and “systemic therapy”. It is important to understand these two elements to understand why surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy are being advised as treatment options.
In basic terms, the intent of the first element of “local control” is to kill all the cancer in the breast so it doesn’t come back, and is described in detail under Breast Surgery and Radiation Therapy.
The intent of the second element of “systemic therapy” is to kill cancers that have escaped the breast or “metastasized” into a woman’s body. Not all women need all of the treatments that will be described, it depends on the type of cancer that the woman has and the type of treatment that has been scientifically proved to give a woman the best chance to live.
The first element of “local control” means that the breast containing the cancer is prevented from making more cancer, and is achieved by individualized program designed specifically for the woman’s needs and which can consist of surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy, either in isolation or in combination, depending on the type of tumor.
The second element of “systemic therapy” involves killing cancers cells that have traveled away from the breast into the body. Systemic therapy means that the doctors have determined that there is a possibility of the breast cancer escaping from the breast and speading to other parts of the body, called “breast cancer metastasis.” If a breast cancer metastasis is suspected, the doctor may recommend chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or immunotherapy to kill any spread cancer cells.
Many women worry about systemic therapy because they have heard about nausea, losing hair or fatigue, and they are tired from making decisions on surgery or radiation therapy. However, the additional treatments can increase a woman’s chance for survival.
Trial Administration