Diagnosis and Treatment Overview
In general, breast cancer is divided into two types: invasive breast cancer and non- invasive breast cancer (carcinoma-in-situ). Non-invasive breast cancers grow inside the ducts of the breast and do not penetrate into surrounding breast tissue. These tumors do not spread to other sites of the body and have an excellent survival rate. Invasive breast cancers have the potential to spread to other sites in the body and range in stage from I-IV depending on the extent of disease. Your specific treatment will depend on the type and stage of your breast cancer.
Your physician at Radiation Medical Group will work closely with a team of doctors including your surgeon and medical oncologist to determine the best, individualized treatment course. Your surgery may consist of removal of the entire breast (mastectomy) or a wide local excision of the tumor (lumpectomy). This is often accompanied by removal of lymph nodes from the axilla (underarm) to determine if the cancer has spread. Post-operative radiotherapy to the breast is part of the routine care of patients who choose to have a lumpectomy. Radiotherapy is used to destroy any residual cancer cells that may still be present in the breast. Lumpectomy along with radiation is appropriate treatment for most women with early stage breast cancer. It provides equivalent survival to that of mastectomy and is often preferred by many women because it allows preservation of the breast. Occasionally, radiotherapy is used after mastectomy to treat the chest wall and regional lymph nodes in patients at high risk for recurrent disease.
