muscles, and sometimes part of the chest wall muscles. This is the most common operation for breast cancer. Radical mastectomy (also called the Halsted radical mastectomy) is the removal of the breast, chest muscles, and all of the lymph nodes under the arm. For many years, this was the operation most used, but it is used now only when the tumor has spread to the chest muscles." *** All of the above information was found on the AOL Health website including information from 2000 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, and was quoted directly from this web site.Radiation therapy when high-energy x-rays are used to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation may come from a machine outside the body called external radiation therapy or from putting materials that produce radiation called radioisotopes through thin plastic tubes into the area where the cancer cells are found. This is called internal radiation therapy. Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be taken by mouth or it may be put into the body by inserting a needle into a vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the drugs enter the bloodstream, travel through the body, and can kill cancer cells outside the breast area. If tests show that the breast cancer cells have estrogen receptors and progesterone receptors, hormone therapy may be given. Hormone therapy is used to change the way hormones in the body help the cancer grow. This can be done by using drugs that can change the way hormones work or also by surgery to take out the organs that make the hormones, such as the ovaries. Hormone therapy with tamoxifen is often given to patients with early stages of breast cancer. Hormone therapy with tamoxifen or estrogens can act on cells all over the body and may increase the chance of getting cancer of the uterus. A doctor should be seen for a pelvic examination every year. Any vaginal bleeding, other than menst...
