Beating breast cancer: know your treatment options

If you're among the 21,000-plus Canadian women diagnosed with breast cancer this year, you have a good chance of beating this disease — much better than just a decade ago.  Here are some treatment options you should know.

The tough part may be sorting through all the options now available. There’s no single treatment strategy that works for everyone. And what’s recommended for you may not be the same as what’s best for another woman.

• In general, key factors in determining the best treatment will be the tumour’s size, aggressiveness and location.
• The earlier the stage and the smaller the tumour, the more likely that surgery will be able to remove it all, and offer a total cure.
• But there are also good options for more advanced stages, if the cancer has spread beyond the breast.
• In designing a treatment, your doctor will consider other factors as well: your age and general health, the size of your breasts and whether you're through menopause.
• The strategy you're ultimately given will then probably feature a mix-and-match of surgery, chemotherapy or hormone-blockers, and radiation.
• Deciding which approach will be most successful for you can be tricky. It’s very normal to feel scared and overwhelmed by all the information and differing opinions you are offered. And the appeal of one treatment over another can be frustratingly small.
• The most difficult program may not necessarily be the best; some arduous regimens increase success rates by as little as one percent.
• On the bright side, you do have time to research various options — at least several weeks unless the cancer is advanced — before you start treatment.

• See other doctors to confirm your diagnosis and discuss the treatment plan recommended for you. If you get two different opinions, see a third or fourth doctor.
• Try to find experts you feel comfortable talking to about your fears — being anesthetized for surgery, losing part of your femininity, having cancer develop elsewhere in your body.
• Good doctors are familiar with such concerns and can give you insightful ideas for handling them.
• The decision is then up to you; many women find that writing in a journal and talking to friends and family leads them to a decision that they feel comfortable with.

• What are my chances of surviving this?
• What side effects can I anticipate from this treatment?
• Will my figure ever recover? What about reconstruction?
• Does this mean I'm at greater risk for other cancers?
• What experience do you have with breast cancer? What is your patients' survival rate?

• Join a support group. This can be tremendously important in helping you deal with your feelings, which may well include fear, anger, loneliness, betrayal by your body, even despair. There are groups to help your kids and other family members cope too.
• Exercise regularly. Many women report exercise helps them tolerate therapy better. Ask about special arm and shoulder exercises if you've had lymph node surgery.
• Eat a balanced and nutritious diet. Good eating can bolster your body’s drive to stay healthy and fight the cancer.
• Keep weight under control. Excess pounds may help lower your odds or raise the risk of a cancer recurrence.
• Concentrate on de-stressing. Get plenty of rest; then explore proven relaxation techniques such as biofeedback, massage and meditation.

Keep this guide in mind and take control of breast cancer by knowing your options and making healthy choices. For more information, be sure to visit your doctor.