Ductal carcinoma in situ, DCIS, is a curable form of non-invasive breast cancer where the cancer cells do not leave the milk ducts. Hormonal therapy may be part of your treatment plan if you have DCIS. Hormonal therapy is used to decrease the risk of cancer coming back in the breast that had the DCIS. …
Chemotherapy is often used in metastatic breast cancer. Your doctor will recommend specific chemotherapy medication for you. Most of the time, one chemotherapy drug is used at a time. In metastatic breast cancer, we continue each type of chemotherapy until it stops working or until you want to stop, usually because of side effects. At …
Not everyone who is diagnosed with breast cancer will require chemotherapy. While chemotherapy is required for many people with invasive breast cancer, some people can skip chemotherapy entirely. Either due to concerns about chemotherapy or other reasons, you may be wondering if you might be able to skip chemotherapy after a breast cancer diagnosis. You …
If you have metastatic breast cancer that is hormone receptor-positive, hormonal therapy will be part of your treatment plan. For HR-positive metastatic breast cancer, many medications will generally be used first before chemotherapy. These medications are called “hormonal drugs” and include fulvestrant and aromatase inhibitors. Treatment decisions are made based on previous treatment and tumor …
Are you wondering if you should be taking hormonal therapy for breast cancer? Read on to learn about when hormonal therapy is used. Hormonal therapy is recommended if the breast cancer you have is hormone receptor positive (HR+). Hormonal therapy may be part of your treatment plan if you have ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), …
In metastatic breast cancer, targeted drugs treat cancer by targeting specific molecules inside the body. Your treatment plan will be designed based on many individual factors. One of these factors is the “biological targets” that your cancer has, which will help decide which targeted drugs are chosen. Targeted drugs will not be used in every …
There are a lot of options for chemotherapy regimens in invasive breast cancer. Chemotherapy drugs kill invasive breast cancer cells by affecting the cells’ ability to divide. The regimens are normally given in a group of two or three drugs, are infused in your vein (also called an IV infusion), and are repeated in cycles …
Once you have been found to have breast cancer, you may be told that chemotherapy is recommended. (Some people call chemotherapy “chemo” for short.) Chemotherapy can be given before surgery to some people, or after surgery, or both before and after surgery. You may be wondering whether chemotherapy will be recommended for you and why. …
What is targeted therapy? What targeted therapies are used for Stages I, II, and III invasive breast cancer? Read on to learn about targeted therapies for invasive breast cancer. Currently, there are two targeted therapies used for Stages I (one), II (two), and III (three) invasive breast cancer, trastuzumab and pertuzumab. Targeted therapy is used …