DRUG TREATMENT OF
BREAST CANCER
There are various drugs used for treating breast cancer: They fall
into two groups:
- Chemotherapy
- Hormonal therapy
Chemotherapy
This involves the administration of various drugs in combination. They
are usually given in cycles lasting 21 days. Most current courses involve 4-6 cycles i.e.
the whole treatment lasts 3 - 4.5 months.
There are many side effects associated with chemotherapy and in
general everyone is afraid of these unwanted effects. However, modern chemotherapy does
not result in the same problems which older drugs were associated with Furthermore, there
are now many effective methods by which many of these side effects are very well
controlled.
Hormonal therapy
Breast cancer is often "hormone dependant" i.e. The tumour
in the breast may be dependent on certain hormones in the body mainly oestrogen.
After a breast lump is removed, the pathologist checks it to find out
if treatment with hormones will be useful.
If the tumour can be treated with hormones, then Tamoxifen, a
well-known drug (an anti-oestrogen acting drug) is often prescribed for a period of 5
years. It is surprisingly free of major side effects. The important ones are change in the
lining of the uterus and changes in the eye.
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