Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy refers to the use of anti-cancer drugs to kill breast cancer cells. This type of therapy can be used in the following ways:

Adjuvant therapy: The objective is to stop or defer the return of cancer after the initial surgery and radiation. Even when the cancer seems to be restricted to the breast and lymph glands under the arm, there is a chance that cells may have already spread to other areas that cannot be seen. Chemotherapy is administered as an effort to destroy these cells.
Neo-adjuvant therapy: In some cases, the type of breast cancer may be so large that using chemotherapy to shrink it first may make the surgery easier to perform.
Treatment of metastatic disease: If the cancer shows up in parts of the body other than the breast and lymph glands under the arm, it is called metastatic disease. Chemotherapy can be one of the key methods used to kill those cancer cells that have spread to other parts of the body, helping women live longer with a good quality of life.

The decisions surrounding when to start chemotherapy and what drugs to use will differ from woman to woman, as will the side effects each may experience from the treatment. These decisions are made together with your team of doctors and a treatment plan is designed for your particular condition. Chemotherapy is given either by mouth or injected into a vein daily, weekly, or every 2-4 weeks.

Adjuvant chemotherapy usually begins after recovery from surgery and before radiation treatment and lasts 4-6 months. You will be checked regularly to see how your body is tolerating the treatment. In advanced breast cancer, chemotherapy regimens can make the cancer shrink or disappear in about 30% to 60% of the people. When chemotherapy is used for metastatic disease (tumor spread), imaging exams may be done to observe what effect the treatment is having on the cancer. Remember, each type of cancer responds in a different way to chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy

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