It's MY lifetime

A diagnosis of breast cancer is always unsettling and raises a host of questions that you should talk to your doctor about: What are the next steps, what are my treatment options, and how will this diagnosis affect my life and the lives of my loved ones?

Depending on your personal situation, the particulars of the tumor, and the time at which the tumor was discovered, a team of breast care experts will develop a personalized treatment plan for you.

There may be a number of options that are clinically appropriate for you. In this case, you can choose your preferred course of treatment in consultation with your doctor.

The treatment options and combinations of treatments that are possible and appropriate in your case depend on a variety of criteria that you should discuss in detail with your doctor. However, all breast cancer patients need to have the tumor surgically removed. There are two kinds of surgery:

• mastectomy: removal of the whole breast
• partial mastectomy/lumpectomy: removal of the tumor along with a small amount of healthy breast tissue.

Before and/or after surgery medical treatment (also called systemic therapy) is often added to the treatment plan. This can include:

• chemotherapy: intravenous or oral anti-cancer drugs
• hormone therapy: drugs to reduce estrogen-levels
• immunotherapy: medication to activate the immune system to detect and kill cancer cells

Before, during or after surgery radiotherapy as external or internal beam radiation is often used to kill remaining cancer cells

The length of the overall treatment depends on the therapy you have chosen.

Radiotherapy treatment generally takes anywhere from a few weeks to several months. In the best case, the length of treatment can be shortened from about six weeks (conventional external beam radiation therapy) to a single day (intraoperative radiation therapy).

Regardless of the type of treatment you receive, make sure you take enough time to rest. Breast cancer treatment can be an emotionally and physically demanding process for you and your loved ones.

For many patients, treatment does not end with the completion of chemotherapy and/or radiation. Especially in the case of metastatic breast cancer, additional treatments may follow.

After treatment, you should visit your doctor for regular check-ups to closely monitor the results of your treatment and progress of recovery.

In addition to physical check-ups by your doctor, other measures such as annual mammography screenings and breast ultrasound examinations are performed according to your doctor’s recommendation.

In many cases, concerns about medium- and long-term side effects such as skin irritation or cardiovascular disease are unfounded. If you are still uncertain or have already detected changes to your body, talk to your doctor.

Some patients also find it very helpful to talk about their illness and treatment experiences with family members, friends, or self-help groups.