Treatment

• Neoadjuvant chemotherapy: The intention of a neoadjuvant chemotherapy is to shrink the tumour or at best destroy small-sized tumour cell clusters. In this state the chances are high to conserve the breast during an operation. Therefore this chemotherapy is applied prior to an operation.

• Breast conserving surgery: A breast conserving surgery in possible in most cases. Given that tumour cells have not manifested in the surrounding breast tissue, lymph nodes, skin, muscles or other organs. During a breast conserving surgery a defined radius of healthy tissue surrounding the tumour is also abstracted as well as lymph nodes which are then checked upon cancer cells to make sure that cancer cells have not spread beyond the breast. A lymph node abstraction is not necessary in the case of the early form of breast cancer (carcinoma in situ)

• Mastectomy: A mastectomy is a complete breast removal. This is necessary when several cancerous or pre-cancerous areas are found, or if the risk of saving healthy tissue is too high.

• Adjuvant Chemotherapy: The adjuvant chemotherapy is a post-surgery drug therapy that is aimed at destroying all remaining cancer cells. By means of an infusion the therapy is asserted in periods of four to six months intermitted by a three to four weeks break. These breaks are necessary for the body to regenerate and to see if the therapy causes any side effects. During the break there is a positive chance that remaining cancer cells divide which can then be destroyed during the next therapy session.

• Radiation therapy/ Radiotherapy: A Radiotherapy follows a breast conserving surgery whereby high energy x-rays are applied to destroy remaining cancer cells. This method lowers the recurrence rate from 30% to 5%. This high success rate is due to the ability of radiotherapy to destroy even smallest cancer residue. Therefore this method is also employed after a mastectomy. The tumour area is irradiated for a period of six to eight weeks, four to six weeks after the surgery.

• Palliative Therapy: A palliative therapy is deployed when there is no hope for cure. This therapy aims at easing the pain with the help of opiates and is usually accompanied by an intensive psychological supervision.