Breast Cancer Treatment Guidelines for Patients

Feb 25, 2011 Travis Butler

Understanding the treatment guidelines for breast cancer helps you to be a more informed individual, allowing you to get the most out of doctor interaction.

Overview

When fighting cancer, it is important to learn about your disease and fully comprehend the various treatment options affecting you at any stage of the disease. Treatment guidelines are available that can help you understand the technical language of most cancer-related documents.

Breast cancer comes in two general types: cancer that begins to grow in the milk-producing area of the breast and cancer that begins to grow in the milk ducts that transport milk to the nipple. The various risk factors increasing your likelihood of developing breast cancer include age, sex (men can get breast cancer as well, but women are 100 times more likely) and genetics.

Treatment Guidelines

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network provides a set of treatment guidelines for patients to help you understand the various steps that your doctor will use in the diagnosis and treatment of your cancer. These guidelines include documents that fully explain each procedure and test to which you may be subjected while coping with breast cancer. Understanding this information allows you to make informed decisions when selecting a treatment regime.

Sample Treatment Guideline

There are several different individually tailored treatment guidelines corresponding to each stage of breast cancer. For example, if you have stage IV (metastasized) breast cancer, the provided guideline gives you a direct synopsis of your available treatment options for that specific level of cancer, including surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy, and chemo, along with suggestions for helping you devise a treatment plan in conjunction with your supervising physician.

Sample Guideline Overview

In addition to guidelines for each specific stage of breast cancer, there are also overviews provided to give the salient facts germane to all cases of breast cancer. The treatment overview page is for individuals who either suspect that they have breast cancer or are newly diagnosed. This page explains the various options your physician has for detecting and diagnosing breast cancer, along with information to help you understand and interpret the results of your biopsy (the test of the potentially cancerous tissue).

Guideline Benefits

The primary benefit gleaned from utilization of the NCCN treatment guidelines is empowerment. Understanding what to expect during treatment and being informed enough to converse intelligently with your attending physician instead of being overwhelmed by the process itself can help you to take a more proactive role in your health care, leading to a course of action that is more productive and satisfying to you as a patient.

www.nccn.com/overview_breast_cancer.aspx

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000913.htm

www.nccn.com/breast_cancer_IV.aspx