HWN Suggests

The Trap of Treatment Dogma

New research showing that certain women with early-stage breast cancer may be able to skip chemotherapy has created understandable excitement: Avoiding the side effects of chemotherapy without compromising one’s prognosis is highly appealing for women diagnosed with this difficult disease. Interestingly, such an approach would have been of little surprise to a group of largely forgotten 20th-century physicians who vehemently argued that breast cancers had distinctive biologies and therefore needed different treatments. It is worth revisiting the recommendations of these pioneering clinicians, and the scorn they received, as we incorporate this new research into daily clinical practice.…

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Featured

 Cancer Without Chemotherapy: ‘A Totally Different World’

A growing number of cancer patients, especially those with breast and lung cancers, are being spared the dreaded treatment in favor of other options.

 Do You Still Need Chemo for Breast Cancer?

Some breast cancer patients are getting less chemo—or bypassing it—resulting in less anxiety, fewer side effects, and better outcomes.

 Early-stage breast cancer: Does it make sense to have chemotherapy?

Women who have had surgery to remove early-stage breast cancer are often worried that the cancer will return. Chemotherapy can reduce the likelihood of a recurrence. But this treatment isn’t always a good idea because the disadvantages sometimes outweigh the advantages.

Articles of Interest

Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer 30 Years Later

In 1976, Bonadonna and his colleagues published the results of their landmark trial of adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer.1 They showed that 12 months of postoperative chemotherapy consisting of cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil (CMF) decreased the risk of recurrence of breast cancer in women with positive axillary lymph nodes.

Early stage breast cancer: How to know whether to forgo chemo

The decision of whether a breast cancer patient will receive chemotherapy and/or hormone-blockers is based on many factors, including tumor size, grade, lymph node status, and presence or absence of hormone receptors or HER2 receptors.

Many breast cancer patients can skip chemo, big study finds

Most women with the most common form of early-stage breast cancer can safely skip chemotherapy without hurting their chances of beating the disease, doctors are reporting from a landmark study that used genetic testing to gauge each patient’s risk.

Many women with breast cancer may not need chemo, but beware misleading headlines

Findings from a major international clinical trial suggest a significant number of women with the most common form of early-stage breast cancer do not need chemotherapy after surgery.

Thousands of women will avoid chemo thanks to a study funded by the breast cancer stamp

The largest cancer precision medicine trial ever completed has revealed that thousands of women with a common type of breast cancer will no longer need chemotherapy.

Resources

BreastCancer.org

Chemotherapy is a systemic therapy; this means it affects the whole body by going through the bloodstream. The purpose of chemotherapy and other systemic treatments is to get rid of any cancer cells that may have spread from where the cancer started to another part of the body.

Cancer Research UK

This page tells you about chemotherapy for breast cancer

Cancer Treatment Centers of America

The use of breast cancer chemotherapy at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) is overseen by medical oncologists who specialize in treating cancer with different types of drugs and breast cancer chemotherapy. Breast cancer chemotherapy can be administered either orally or through an intravenous administration.

Imaginis

Many women are prescribed drugs as part of their breast cancer treatment. The type of drug and dosage will vary from patient to patient depending on her medical situation. This section outlines some of the drugs commonly used to treat breast cancer.

Macmillan Cancer Support

There are many different chemotherapy drugs, and combinations of drugs, used to treat breast cancer. You may be offered a choice of chemotherapy treatments, as the different combinations have different side effects.

MedicineNet.

In cancer treatment, chemotherapy refers to the use of drugs to kill or slow the growth of rapidly multiplying cells. Chemotherapy usually includes a combination of drugs, since this is more effective than a single drug given alone. There are many drug combinations used to treat breast cancer.