Once your doctor has made a diagnosis of breast cancer, breast cancer treatment must begin. Your doctor will determine which cancer treatment will be the best for your type of cancer. Surgery is usually the most viable treatment for women with breast cancer; surgery is usually followed by chemotherapy, radiation, or hormone therapy. Before you consent to a particular treatment plan, it would be to your advantage to consult with another breast cancer specialist for a second opinion.

In order to undergo breast cancer treatment, you must be properly diagnosed. All too often, a woman does not get an early diagnosis of breast cancer, because she did not notice any changes in her breasts soon enough. It also happens that women put off going to the doctor when they discover changes in their breasts. Very often, a woman is fearful of what she might find out if she undergoes diagnostic testing, such as mammograms and ultrasounds. The National Breast Cancer Foundation advocates mammograms for early diagnosis of breast cancer. Women are often afraid of the discomfort associated with mammograms; therefore, the Breast Cancer Foundation is educating women about how a mammogram feels, and the importance of having them. When women know what to expect, they no longer fear the discomfort associated with having mammograms done.

Breast cancer treatment is different for different women. The different surgeries are lumpectomy, simple mastectomy, radical mastectomy, sentinel node biopsy, and axillary lymph node dissection. The lumpectomy involves removing the cancerous tumor and a small portion of the surrounding tissues of the breast. A simple mastectomy involves the complete removal of the breast. A radical mastectomy involves the removal of the breast, along with the pectoral muscle and connective tissue on the chest wall. The lymph nodes are also removed in the axillary area under the arm. A sentinel node biopsy is surgery that locates the lymph node that receives lymph drainage from a breast tumor. An axillary lymph node dissection is done after a sentinel node biopsy locates the lymph node receiving lymph fluid from the breast tumor.

Breast cancer treatment will vary for different women. Some women can have just their lymph node removed, others will need only a lumpectomy, and still others will need a mastectomy. Some women elect to have a mastectomy of both breasts, when only one breast has cancer. As a preventive measure for breast cancer, a small percentage of women elect to have their breasts removed if they have tested positive for the genetic defect that causes some breast cancers.

If you would like to raise money for breast cancer research, you can participate in breast cancer walks in or near the community in which you live. Most cities have a local chapter of the Breast Cancer Foundation. The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation funds a 3-day breast cancer walk. Eighty-five percent of the money raised in this 3-day breast cancer walk goes to the Komen Foundation which funds breast cancer research. If you are unable to participate in a breast cancer walk, there are many other ways you can give to the cause of breast cancer research. You can donate to the National Breast Cancer Foundation directly. You can also shop at online stores that give a portion of their profits to the advancement of breast cancer research.

The National Breast Cancer Foundation advocates that women be proactive and ask their doctors to have mammograms. Many younger women don’t get mammograms because their doctors say most breast cancers happen in postmenopausal women. The statistics are changing; many younger women in their 30s are developing breast cancer. Early detection of breast cancer saves women’s lives. Breast cancer research indicates that in 1980 1 in 11 women developed breast cancer; now breast cancer research indicates that 1 in 8 women have breast cancer.