BEAST CANCER/NONSURGICAL TREATMENTS: IF WOMEN CAN SAFELY AVOID CHEMOTHERAPY AT THE TIME OF DIAGNOSIS
Sometimes women wonder if they can safely avoid chemotherapy at the time of diagnosis, when it would be given adjuvantly, and receive the treatment only when/if the cancer recurs in the future. There is no easy way to say this. This is the time to do everything you possibly can to prevent any future recurrence of your breast cancer and to live a long and healthy life. Breast cancer that recurs in other parts of your body is treatable, but it is not usually curable. This first shot is your best shot at surviving breast cancer. Use it.
Chemotherapy for breast cancer is a changing science. As you talk with other women who were treated a few years ago, you will find that their regimens were somewhat different. There may also be differences of opinion among doctors and medical centers. Although this can seem frightening and confusing, it does not mean that one treatment is right and all the others are wrong. Conversely, research has shown that standard adjuvant chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer are virtually identical in outcome. You will make choices that reflect your personal needs.
Some adjuvant chemotherapy programs for breast cancer have been used for years and have proven their value over time. Clinical trials, carefully designed studies using different drugs or different schedules of treatment, are always in progress as doctors try to find even more effective ways to treat breast cancer. Slightly different treatment regimens are likely to be used in different parts of the country. All of them have the same goal: saving your life.
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