Thursday, March 24, 2011

Popular Therapies against Stage 4 Breast Cancer

By Tyler Weber

Today, many cancer therapies are very sophisticated and effective on fighting off cancer. The days are gone when humans are powerless against cancer and its consequences. It is common knowledge that cancer up to now is still difficult to cure however, the advancements in treatment strategies today make these therapies better than before.

Breast cancer is perhaps one of the most common and feared cancer types. When this type of disease is discovered at stage 4 breast cancer or the malignant stage, it is very difficult to treat. Many therapies may be available but it will still be very hard if cancer is already on the metastatic stage.

Many people can seem at a loss when faced with the different treatment options for stage 4 breast cancers. To help you with this, let us examine some of the most popular and effective medical treatment for breast cancer: Surgery to excise the cancer cells - Surgery aimed at taking away cancerous cells in the body is one of the treatments to eradicate cancer. When it is possible to remove the cancerous cells through surgery without affecting much of the organ or body function, this alternative may be the best option. Surgery for cancer treatment is ineffective if the cancer has spread throughout the body already. This therapy is only effective against some localized tumors or those that have not spread into the body systems. This means that cancer has to be at the early stages so that this surgery can be effective.

Radiation - Radiation is also one of the most popular therapies when it comes to cancer treatment. It makes use of a radioactive energy source to kill the cancer cells and stop it from multiplying uncontrollably. There are essentially two ways to deliver the radiation to the target cancer cells: an external radiation source or an internal radioactive implant. In external radiation sources, the radiation beams come from a device or equipment that does not essentially come in contact with the body. Unlike the internal radiation source that needs to be implanted inside the person's body to be effective.

Chemotherapy against cancer - The use of special medications that have properties to fight cancer is called chemotherapy. Although the cancer medicines work in different methods, they all have an end goal of stopping the cancer progression. This can lead to an end or merely a break in the cancer cycle. There may be side effects with this treatment however it still has a great potential in helping cancer stop its deadly course.

This article has hopefully shed some light on the subject of cancer treatments and therapies.

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