Treatment by Stage and Type of Breast Cancer

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Breast cancer can manifest itself in different ways. Knowing your main types helps you better understand what’s going on.

We call stage the size or extent of breast cancer. It is a very important factor in making decisions about treatment options.

Therapeutic intervention and treatment time largely depend on the stage of the tumor, but some other factors can also influence, such as:

  • If the cancer cells have hormone receptors, that is, if the cancer is Estrogen Receptor (ER) and/or Progesterone Receptor (PR) positive;
  • If the cancer cells have large amounts of the HER2 protein, that is, if the cancer is HER2 positive;
  • The patient’s general health and personal preferences;
  • Whether the patient has gone through menopause or not;
  • Tumor growth rate.

References:

  1. National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Guidelines for Patients: Breast Cancer. Available at https://www.nccn.org/patientresources/patient-resources/guidelines-for-patients#category_1, accessed on August 2022.
  2. Treatment Option Overview. National Cancer Institute (NCI). Available at  http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/breast/Patient/page5, accessed on August 2022.