Breast cancer is one of the major public health problems all over the world. It is the most common cancer in women after skin cancer. There are various treatments for breast cancer, and the one you undergo depends on multiple factors, such as the kind of breast cancer and its malignancy.
So, in this article, we will read about the different types of breast cancer treatments and breast treatment costs in India.
Table of Content
Symptoms of Breast Cancer
There are a few signs and symptoms of breast cancer that immediately need attention. These signs and symptoms include:
- Non-painful or painful lump in the breast or underarms
- Change in size and shape of the breast
- Unusual discharge from the nipple
- Change in nipple color or the breast skin
What are the Different Treatments for Breast Cancer?
Different types of breast cancers need different types of treatment. So, the most common types of treatments are:
Surgery
Breast cancer treatment often involves surgeries to remove cancerous tissue from the breast. There are different types of breast cancer surgeries. These are:
- Lumpectomy in which a surgeon removes the tumor. It is ideal for removing small tumors.
- Mastectomy removes the entire breast tissue, such as the fatty tissue, lobules, areola, and nipple.
- Sentinel Node Biopsy to determine if cancer spreads to the lymph nodes. If yes, then the surgeon removes them.
- Axillary lymph node dissection to remove extra lymph nodes in your armpit.
- Both breasts are removed when women with one breast cancer risk cancer develop in the other breasts due to family history or a genetic predisposition.
Chemotherapy
This treatment requires special medicines that kill or shrink the cancer cells from the breasts. The drugs could be medicines injected in your veins or pills, or maybe both. In fact, women with larger breast tumors undergo this procedure before surgery. Therefore, it is effective for women whose cancer has spread to other body parts.
Hormonal therapy
This type of treatment blocks the cancer cells from getting the hormones they require to grow. The type of cancers that require hormonal therapy are progesterone receptor-positive cancers or estrogen receptor-positive cancers. Hormonal therapy, generally used after or before surgery or other treatments. It further decreases the chances of a relapse or recurrence.
Radiation Therapy
This therapy uses high-powered energy beans like protons and x-rays to kill cancer cells. It uses a large machine that transfers energy beams to the body of the patient. The whole breast’s external beam radiation occurs after a lumpectomy. Breast brachytherapy can be an option after that if a patient has a low risk of cancer reoccurrence.
Immunotherapy
This therapy works with your immune system, helping you control side effects from cancer treatments or fight cancer cells. So, it can be an ideal option for those who have triple-negative breast cancer. It means that the cancer cells do not have receptors of HER2, progesterone, or estrogen. For the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, Immunotherapy is effective when combined with chemotherapy.
Diagnose Breast Cancer
Before the surgery, a patient has to undergo various tests to diagnose breast cancer. It is to understand the complexities, stage of cancer, and treatment offered.
Breast Exam: In this exam, the doctor checks lymph nodes in your armpits and both the breasts. The doctor feels any lumps or other abnormalities in your breasts.
Mammogram: This is the breast X-ray for screening breast cancer. It detects any abnormality in the breasts, and the doctor suggests a diagnostic mammogram to evaluate any other abnormality.
Breast Ultrasound: This ultrasound uses sound waves to create deep images within the body. Moreover, it helps determine if a new breast lump is a fluid-filled cyst or a solid mass.
Biopsy: This is the only definite way to make an exact diagnosis of breast cancer. The doctor inserts a needle, followed by an X-ray or some other imaging test, to extract the tissue from the affected area during this procedure. Then the samples are sent to the lab for analysis for experts to determine if the breast cells are cancerous.
Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): For this test, an MRI machine uses radio waves and magnets to create the breast’s interior pictures. Before this procedure, the patient receives dye injections.
Breast Treatment Cost in India
The cost of breast cancer treatment largely varies. So, let’s have an idea of what the cost may look like:
- The chemotherapy session starts from INR 22,376 per session.
- Lumpectomy starts from INR 223,761
- Radiation Therapy starts from INR 261,000
- Radical Mastectomy starts from INR 447,500
- Total Mastectomy starts from INR 522,000
Conclusion:
Undoubtedly, cancer treatment is complex. So, to make it successful, patients must respond to the therapies well. If you are looking for more details regarding the best hospital, surgeon, medical facilities, and breast cancer treatment cost in India, book a free consultation at Lyfboat. We offer the details of the best hospital in India for breast cancer treatment.
