Stage 1 Breast Cancer Treatment

There are many options for stage 1 breast cancer treatment. This is because stage 1 breast cancer has the unique distinction of being an early stage but an invasive cancer. The latter may be disheartening but the former leaves plenty of room for hope. There is a five year survival rate of 98 to 100 percent for stage 1 cancer.

In stage 1, the cancer itself has not metastasized to any other parts of your body. Because of that, the odds are on your side that with treatment during this stage, you can rid yourself of your cancer and go into complete remission.

The most common type of treatment is surgery, because the tumor is still incredibly small. As such, a lumpectomy is generally sufficient. This means that only the tumor along with a small amount – in general – of the surrounding breast tissue is taken out. In some cases, a mastectomy is necessary.

Two other types of treatment for this stage of breast cancer are radiation therapy and chemotherapy. These are used to treat the hidden disease. Radiation usually takes place after surgery in order to destroy any remaining cancer cells. It is usually only necessary following a lumpectomy, not a mastectomy. Chemotherapy uses drug treatment to kill cancerous cells. It, too, frequently occurs after surgery in order to reduce the risk of recurrence.

Hormone therapy is another type of cancer treatment. It is used for woman whose cancer is receptor positive. This means that their tumors appear to feed on estrogen and grow. It is somewhat new. Biological is also a relatively new stage 1 breast cancer treatment. It is used to treat HER2 positive cancers. Clinical studies show that it can be very beneficial in the early stages of breast cancer, so it is quickly becoming a frequently used treatment for stage 1 breast cancer.