Tag Archives: Hormone receptor positive breast tumor

plastic surgery for overweight african american

Recurrent breast tumor

Recurrent breast tumor diagnosis: The remnants of cancer cells

Recurrent breast tumor

Recurrent breast tumor. Breast cancer is a malignant tumor which is a collection of cancer cells arising from the cells of the breast.

Recurrent breast tumor diagnosis is essential in addressing the underlying problem. Therefore from the mammogram, physical exam or just by way of signs and symptoms and investigations findings, if the doctor suspects that you may having some traces of recurrent breast he or she may recommend further additional tests to confirm the diagnosis. Some of the tests and procedures may include:

Imaging tests. The kind of imaging test the patient will undergo will depend on the individual situation. Nonetheless, the Imaging tests may include a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography (CT) scan, X-ray, bone scan or positron emission tomography (PET) scan. It must however be noted that not every patient needs every test. The doctor will determine which tests are most helpful in your particular situation.

Removing a sample of tissue for lab testing (biopsy). The doctor may recommend a biopsy procedure to collect suspicious cells for testing. Working in a laboratory, a pathologist examines the cells and determines the types of cells involved. A pathologist will then determine if the cancer is a recurrence of cancer or a new type of cancer. Tests also show whether the cancer is sensitive to hormone treatment or targeted therapy.

Recurrent breast tumor diagnosis: Treatment

Every patient has their unique treatment plan and this will depend on a number of factors. Like for instance, the extent of the disease, its hormone receptor status, the type of treatment you received for your first breast cancer and your overall health. Besides these, the doctor will also considers the patients goals and preferences for treatment.

Recurrent breast tumor diagnosis: Treating a local recurrence

Treatment for a local recurrence typically starts with an operation and may include radiation if the patient haven’t had it before. Chemotherapy and hormone therapy may also be recommended as well.

Surgery. When the recurrent breast cancer is confined to the breast, treatment will involves removing any remaining breast tissue. However, if the first cancer was treated with lumpectomy, the doctor may recommend a mastectomy to remove the remaining breast tissue like lobules, ducts, fatty tissue, skin and nipple.

If your first breast cancer was treated with mastectomy and the cancer comes back in the chest wall, you may have surgery to remove the new cancer along with a margin of normal tissue. A local recurrence may be accompanied by hidden cancer in nearby lymph nodes. Therefore, the surgeon may remove some or all of the nearby lymph nodes if they weren’t removed during your initial treatment.

Radiation therapy. Radiation therapy uses high-energy beams, such as X-rays, to kill cancer cells. If you didn’t have radiation therapy for your first breast cancer, your doctor may recommend it now. But if you had radiation after a lumpectomy, radiation to treat the recurrence isn’t usually recommended because of the risk of side effects.

Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. Your doctor may recommend chemotherapy after surgery to reduce your risk of another cancer recurrence.

Hormone therapy. Medications that block the growth-promoting effects of the hormones estrogen and progesterone may be recommended if your cancer is hormone receptor positive.

Recurrent breast tumor diagnosis: The remnants of cancer cells

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin

Aromatase Inhibitors and Cancer

Aromatase Inhibitors Are Effective In Fighting Cancer

AromataseAromatase inhibitors may help in fighting cancer as they stop a key enzyme called aromatase from changing other hormones into estrogen. It works differently from other drugs that focus on blocking the oxygen receptors such as tamoxifen and raloxifene. This helps in lowering the levels of the estrogen hormone in the body denying the estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer fuel to grow.

Research has linked excess estrogen to various types of cancers such as the breast, prostate, lung, cervical, uterine, lung, prostate and colorectal cancers. With the aromatase inhibitors the production of estrogen hormone is stopped. The aromatase inhibitors do not stop the production of estrogen hormone at the ovary and therefore they work only at post menopausal stage. As known the ovaries stops producing estrogen hormones after menopause and this may often lead to hormonal imbalance between the estrogen and progesterone hormones which is also known to cause cancer.

The dangers of excess estrogen in the body has been emphasized by oncologists who have advised women to maintain an ideal weight and shed extra fats as Enzyme, aromatase is found in fats, it converts the testosterone into estrogen hormones. The dominance of estrogen in the breasts tissues exposes you to breast cancer. The dangers of estrogen dominance are a lot and so it should be controlled. Let’s look at the implications of excess estrogen hormones.

Dangers of Excess estrogen

Cancer has been linked to estrogen dominance in the body. In a case where estrogen is excessively higher than the progesterone hormones in the body the hormonal environment in the body becomes conducive for the growth of cancer cells. Excess Estrogen hormones in the breast tissues are a major risk to breast cancer.

An imbalance between the progesterone and estrogen hormones is a major cause of cancer. The level of progesterone is always lowered during perimenopause and menopause stages as ovarian hormone production stops completely. When production of this hormone is reduced, the body will have high estrogen hormones hence exposing women to cancer. A key approach to cancer prevention is in ensuring a balance between the estrogen and progesterone hormone is achieved.

Artificial hormone xenoestrogen adds the estrogen activities in our bodies. We get this hormone in commercial dairy products that are from animals injected with growth hormones and it acts as estrogen in our bodies. It is also available in pesticides used to spray crops and unfortunately they end up in our bodies. When introduced in the body they inhabit fatty tissues like the breast tissues and hence favor growth of cancerous cells in the breast. This hormone is more poisonous than natural ‘estrogen dominance’ and it also poisons the DNA, unfortunately xenoestrogen cannot be easily removed from the body.

Some of the drugs that are known to function as estrogen inhibitors are;

I.        Arimidex also known as anastrozole

II.        Aromasin also known as exemestane

III.        Femara also known as letrozole

Each is a pill, usually taken once a day. All three are available as generic medicines.

Benefits of aromatase inhibitors

Aromatase inhibitors have been endorsed by researchers and cancer patients for use in treatment of various types of cancers. In a research study doctors compared the use of aromatase inhibitors and Tamoxifen to see which type of medicine was effective in treating cancer especially the early stage hormone receptor positive breast cancer in post menopausal women. The findings from this study favoured aromatase inhibitors and therefore the doctors recommended the use of aromatase inhibitors after initial treatment that is mostly through conventional cancer therapies like surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

An aromatase inhibitor is the best hormonal therapy to start with. When treating Doctors have found that aromatase inhibitors are the best hormonal therapy. It was found that treating early-stage, hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer. This is because aromatase inhibitors have more benefits and has fewer side effects than tamoxifen.

Researchers have also proved that when a patient who has been on a tamoxifen for 2 to 3 years switches to aromatase inhibitors for a total of five years, he would benefit more than a patient who has been on five years of Tamoxifen.

The doctors have also recommended the use of aromatase inhibitors for another five years after a patient has been on Tamoxifen for initial five years. This will help the cancer patient to reduce the chances of cancer re-occurring. Therefore it should be taken even after treatment with Tamoxifen.

Some of the side effects of aromatase inhibitors

Researchers have shown that aromatase inhibitors tend to cause fewer side effects as compared to Tamoxifen. However aromatase inhibitors can also cause such side effects as blood clots, stroke, endometrial cancer, heart problems and osteoporosis. It may also cause more broken bones than Tamoxifen. It is therefore important to have a bone density test before you begin using the aromatase inhibitors. The doctors will advice you depending on the bone density test results whether to use bone strengthening medicine in the course of the aromatase inhibitor treatment.

AromataseAnother common side effect of using Aromatase inhibitors is joint pains. However many people are not troubled with the joint pains after a 2008 British study revealed that women who experienced joint pains while under hormonal therapy medications were less likely to experience the coming back of the disease.

Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an experienced integrative cancer doctor that has helped many cancer patients in their fight against the disease. She has worked hard not only in treating the disease but also in availing informational support to cancer patients at Awaremed which has become a place called home for many cancer patients. Call on her now and get help on cancer.

Aromatase Inhibitors Are Effective In Fighting Cancer

Related articles

Facebooktwitterpinterestlinkedin