
Current treatments for women with breast cancer include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hormonal therapy. Treatment methods are classified as local or systemic. Local treatments — such as surgery and radiation therapy — remove, destroy or control cancer cells in a specific area. Systemic treatments, such as chemotherapy and hormonal therapy, destroy or control cancer cells throughout the body. Depending on your condition, you may receive a single treatment or a combination of therapies given at the same time or in succession.
Surgery is a common treatment for cancer and several types may be used, from lumpectomy to breast reconstruction:
Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy rays or particles to treat disease. It works by killing tumor cells or inhibiting their growth and division. Years of study by radiation oncologists have led to the widespread use of effective, tolerable doses of radiation. It is used to treat early stage breast cancer along with surgery. It may be used in more advanced breast cancer to control the disease or to treat symptoms such as pain.
To learn more, read Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer.
Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. For breast cancer, it is usually administered as a combination of drugs given orally or by injection. Chemotherapy enters the bloodstream and travels throughout your body. The treatment is most commonly used to decrease the chance that cancer will recur after surgery, shrink breast cancer after surgery when the tumor is large or if it is inflammatory, and to control metastatic breast cancer which has spread to other organs in the body.
Hormonal therapies change the hormonal environment in your body, which impacts the growth and behavior of some breast cancers. If your breast cancer produces one of the hormone receptors — estrogen receptor (ER) or progesterone receptor (PR) — then hormonal therapy is effective in treating early-stage, metastatic or advanced breast cancer and preventing recurrence.
Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.
Last updated May 23, 2012

Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center
1600 Divisadero St., Second Floor
San Francisco, CA 94115
Phone: (415) 353-7070
Fax: (415) 353-7050
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Breast Care Center in Marin
1300 S. Eliseo Drive, Suite 204
Greenbrae, CA 94904
Phone: (415) 353-7070
Fax: (415) 353-7050
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