Breast cancer today is one of the most treatable cancers, as long as it gets caught early. Depending upon the type, stage, hormone receptor status, herceptin status, genetics, and health of the patient, the treatment will vary.

Being diagnosed with breast cancer is certainly an overwhelming, frightening, and life changing event. The patient and families are often surprised by so many new medical words associated with cancer treatment. Furthermore, significant changes have been made to the various methods of treating breast cancer. Now, there are more effective and personalized treatment methods.

Keep on reading this article to learn about breast cancer treatment options, how decisions are made, and what it is like during therapy.

What is Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer starts in a breast or both. When abnormal cells in your breast multiply uncontrollably, the lump they form is called a tumor. This is breast cancer. Breast cancer mostly affects woman above 45 years of age. Nonetheless, breast cancer can occur in anyone with the breast. Breast cancer is very unusual for all children and boys.

Breast cancer may arise in:

• Glandular Tissue: This consists of the mammary glands, ducts, and lobules.
• Fibrous tissue and fatty tissue: These fill up the spaces between the lobules, ducts, and the breast tissues.
• The nipple: It is a small mound located in the center of a breast through which milk passes from within the breast through duct openings.
• Blood vessels and Lymph vessels: Inflammatory breast cancer results from the blockage of the lymph vessels in the skin of the breast. Angiosarcoma originates from the lining of the blood vessels, the lymph vessels in the breast.

Types of Breast Cancer

Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma

Invasive or Infiltrating Ductal Carcinoma originates in the cells forming the lining of the mammary ducts, which have grown beyond the initial point of origin.

Inflammatory Breast Cancer

Inflammatory breast cancer is another rare type of breast cancer where the cells grow and clog the lymph vessels on the skin of the breasts. Inflammatory types of breast cancer are likely to recur. Inflammatory refers to the inflammation or swelling infection of the breast because of the appearance of the breasts.

Metastatic Breast Cancer

Stage 4 or metastatic breast cancer refers to breast cancer that originates in the breast but has metastasized to other areas in the body. The cancer cells can break away from the main tumor through the bloodstream or through the lymph systems to reach other areas. The cancer cells are capable of forming a new tumor.

Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

Finding out if a woman has breast cancer may involve an examination and talking about the symptoms. There may be tests to evaluate the breast tissue to see if there is anything abnormal. In order to determine if there really is cancer, tissue will be taken from the breast.

Breast Exam

In a clinical breast exam, a medical professional examines the breasts to find anything that does not look normal. The health professional might look for abnormalities in the skin or nipple. The health professional then examines the breasts by feeling for lumps. The health professional examines the areas around the collarbone and armpits to find lumps.

Mammogram

A mammogram is a breast X-ray. A mammogram is a common tool in screenings for breast cancer. Often, after a concerned area is discovered in a screening mammogram, a follow-up mammogram is needed to view the area more clearly. Sonographic examination An ultrasound takes pictures using sound waves. This test might help your care team understand better what's happening if you have a lump in your breast.

Breast MRI

MRI machines put together a picture of the inside of the body by using a magnetic field and radio waves. An MRI of the breast is able to produce more detailed views of the breast. Before getting a breast MRI, one is given an injection of dye. The dye helps the tissue appear better in the pictures.

Biopsy

A biopsy is a procedure in which a sample of tissue is removed for testing in a laboratory. To procure this tissue sample, a medical professional uses a needle to penetrate through the skin and breast tissue. This needle is guided by images produced from X-rays or ultrasound imaging.

Breast Cancer Treatments

Local Treatments

Certain therapies, such as surgery and radiation, are considered local since they only target the cancer cells, ignoring the rest of the body.

Surgery

There are many types of breast surgeries, ranging from different types depending upon the reason for such surgery. Some examples of reasons for breast or breast-related surgeries include:

• Take out as much cancer as possible (breast-conserving surgery or mastectomy)
• Determine if the cancer has involved the lymph nodes in the axilla (under the arm) (biopsy or dissection of axillary lymph nodes)
• Restore the shape of the breast removed for cancer (mastectomy reconstruction for cancer surgery)
• Relieve symptoms of advanced cancer

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy involves using high-energy rays or particles that can kill cancer cells. Some patients will require this therapy in conjunction with other therapies if they have cancer in the breast.

Radiation therapy can be considered, depending on the stage of the breast cancer, under the following circumstances:

• After breast-conserving surgery (BCS), to decrease the probability that the cancer may recur within the breast or nearby lymph nodes.
• Following a mastectomy, particularly if the tumor is larger than 5 cm, or about 2 inches, or if the cancer is found in many of the lymph nodes, or if the margin of the skin or the muscle is involved.
• The extent to which the cancer has spread to other areas, including the bones, spinal cord, and brain.

Systemic Treatments

Prescribed medications for treating breast cancer act as systemic because they have the capability to permeate cancer cells throughout the body. These medications may be taken orally, through injection in the muscle, or directly into the bloodstream.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy, or chemo, involves cancer-fighting medication that can be injected through your vein or taken orally. The medication goes through your bloodstream to eliminate cancer cells in most areas of your body. In some situations, when cancer metastasizes to your spinal fluid, which protects your brain and spinal cord, chemo can be injected in this area. The process in this case is referred to as intrathecal chemo.

Chemo is administered in a cycle. After this, there is a rest period, which gives you time to recover from chemo. A chemo cycle is normally 2 or 3 weeks. Depending on the chemo drugs administered, you have different chemo schedules. In some chemo drugs, chemo is administered just for one day. In other chemo drugs, chemo is administered once each week for a few weeks. Another schedule is chemo administered every other week. After this, you return to chemo schedules to begin another cycle.

Chemo medications may cause the patient side effects, depending on the nature and dosage of the medication used, as well as the period of the treatment. Some of the common possible side effects include:

• Hair loss
• Nail changes
• Mouth sores
• Loss of Appetite or Weight Change
• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Fatigue

Hormone Therapy

Some breast cancers are hormonally linked to estrogen and progesterone. The breast cancer cells in these cases have certain receptors or proteins that can only bind to the hormones estrogen and progesterone to promote the growth of cancer cells. Such treatment can be given as hormone or endocrine therapy.

Hormone therapy can kill cancer cells wherever they are in the body and not just in the breast. It is a treatment option for cancer patients whose cancer cells have hormone receptors. Women whose cancer cells lack hormone receptors should not expect that it will be helpful.

Hormonal therapies used for breast cancer treatment include aromatase inhibitors, selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), and estrogen receptor down regulators (ERDs):

Aromatase Inhibitors

This drug decreases the level of estrogen in your body. It blocks the enzyme activity of aromatase, which is a specific enzyme that facilitates the conversion of other hormones into estrogen. If you have ER positive breast cancer, your doctor will most probably recommend that you take hormone therapy once you are menopausal.

Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs)

Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) work by blocking estrogen to bind to the cancer cells. As a result, the cancer cells will be unable to grow and multiply since they are deprived of the compound that normally helps cancer cells grow and multiply, which is estrogen.

Estrogen receptor down-regulators (ERDS)

These agents suppress the function of estrogen receptors through inhibition of the binding between the estrogen molecule and the cancer cells.

Targeted Therapy

Targeted therapy utilizes the group of pharmaceutical agents that can accurately identify and kill only a specific subtype of breast cancer cells which, for example, could be those with an overproduction of HER2 proteins or those having a BRCA gene mutation. Targeted therapies are a part of precision medicine and rely on the traces or markers located in or on the cancer cells that help a given subtype of breast cancer to be targeted.

There are two types of targeted therapy medications: inhibitors of CDK4/6 and anti-HER2 agents.

CDK4/6 inhibitors are used to treat HER2-negative, hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. They function by preventing the division of cancer cells.

All stages of HER2-positive breast cancer are treated with anti-HER2 medications. They function by inhibiting the HER2 receptors that support the growth of the malignancy.

Certain targeted therapies have antibodies that function like those made by your immune system. These drugs might be referred to as immune targeted therapy. They function by helping your immune system target cancer cells for destruction.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy refers to the therapy or treatment that assists the immune system in fighting the breast cancer cells. Currently, immunotherapy is employed to treat patients with curable or high-risk early-stage and also with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Immunotherapy: It is the training of your immune system to give your body the ability to take action against cancer cells. It helps your body produce cells that fight cancer. These immune cells attack and destroy cancerous cells. This treatment helps regulate your immune system and increase its ability to produce cancer-killing immune cells.

Active Immunotherapy

Active forms of immunotherapy are medications designed to target your immune system on the cells of your breast cancer. For such medications, your healthcare providers analyze the cells of your breastfeeding for the antigens.

Passive Immunotherapy

These are biological medicines used to enhance the body’s own cancer-fighting agents in the immune system.

This treatment is comparatively new and only for individuals with high-risk triple-negative breast cancer and triple-negative metastatic breast cancer. In a groundbreaking study, patients with triple-negative breast cancer who were treated with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab alongside chemotherapy lived longer than those who only received chemotherapy.

Today, the future of breast cancer treatment looks brighter. Thanks to early detection, new therapies, and tailored treatment plans, many patients can expect positive outcomes. I know it can be a tough journey, but it’s crucial to remember that you’re not alone. With a dedicated medical team, a caring support network, and reliable information, patients can make informed decisions and find the courage to tackle what comes next.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the best treatment for breast cancer? There is definitely no "best" treatment. The most appropriate treatment depends on cancer type and stage.

2. Can breast cancer be cured? It is possible to cure very early breast cancers. The condition of advanced cancers can be controlled for a long period.

3. Does chemotherapy have to be given to everyone? No. It is possible that the tumor biology and the genomic analysis may spare some patients from chemotherapy.

4. How long does breast cancer treatment last? The initial treatment period may last several months, but hormone therapy may be continued for years.

5. Is breast reconstruction safe after mastectomy? Yes, breast reconstruction is safe and can be carried out either immediately or later.

6. Does treatment for breast cancer cause infertility? It is possible that some therapies may affect fertility. If fertility is to be preserved, one should think about it before initiating the treatment.

7. What are the long-term side effects of treatment? Depending on the treatment, side effects can be fatigue, bone marrow suppression, cardiac involvement, and changes in mood.

References

1. Breast Cancer - Diagnosis and Treatment - Mayo Clinic.{: rel="nofollow"}

2. “---.” Cancer.gov, 2 Dec. 2025{: rel="nofollow"}

3. ---. “Hormone Therapy for Cancer.” Cleveland Clinic, 14 Nov. 2025{: rel="nofollow"}

4. “Breast Cancer Treatment | Treatment Options for Breast Cancer.” American Cancer Society.{: rel="nofollow"}