Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Thanks to improvements in chemotherapy and new thinking about the order of treatment, providing chemotherapy prior to breast cancer surgery has become a successful treatment for many patients. Neoadjuvant therapy is a treatment approach which focuses on this type of reverse order. The idea is to first shrink the tumor with chemotherapy before any next steps, specifically surgery.
Moore says. Keep in mind, not all breast cancers require chemotherapy. And only certain tumors qualify for neoadjuvant chemotherapy. In the past, neoadjuvant therapy was primarily given for locally advanced or inoperable cancers in order to improve the chances of a successful surgery.
But newer studies showed that for tumors that were in fact operable, giving chemotherapy before surgery improved the chances of breast conserving surgery, and often eliminating the need for a mastectomy in many patients. Your doctor can help you decide whether chemotherapy for breast cancer is a good choice for you. After you have surgery to remove the breast cancer, your doctor may recommend chemotherapy to destroy any undetected cancer cells and reduce your risk of the cancer recurring.
This is known as adjuvant chemotherapy. Your doctor may recommend adjuvant chemotherapy if you have a high risk of the cancer recurring or spreading to other parts of your body metastasizing , even if there is no evidence of cancer after surgery.
You may have a higher risk of metastasis if cancer cells are found in lymph nodes near the affected breast. Chemotherapy is sometimes given before surgery known as neoadjuvant therapy or preoperative chemotherapy to shrink larger cancers. This may:. If breast cancer has spread to other parts of your body and surgery isn't an option, chemotherapy can be used as the primary treatment.
It may be used in combination with targeted therapy. The main goal of chemotherapy for advanced breast cancer is generally to improve quality and length of life rather than to cure the disease. There is a problem with information submitted for this request. Sign up for free and receive the latest on breast cancer treatment, care and management.
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Chemotherapy medications travel throughout the body. Side effects depend on the drugs you receive and your reaction to them. Side effects may get worse during the course of treatment. Most side effects are temporary and subside once treatment is finished. Sometimes chemotherapy can have long-term or permanent effects. In the process of targeting fast-growing cancer cells, chemotherapy drugs can also damage other fast-growing healthy cells, such as those in the hair follicles, bone marrow and digestive tract.
These side effects often go away after treatment is finished or within a year after completing chemotherapy. In some cases, they may be long lasting. One possible side effect that may not go away is infertility. Some anti-cancer drugs damage the ovaries. This may cause menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness. Menstrual periods may become irregular or stop amenorrhea.
If ovulation ceases, pregnancy becomes impossible. Depending on your age, chemotherapy may induce a premature permanent menopause. Discuss with your doctor your risk of permanent menopause and its consequences.
If you continue to menstruate, you may still be able to get pregnant, even during treatment or after treatment is completed. But because the effects of chemotherapy are dangerous to the fetus, talk with your doctor about appropriate birth control options before treatment begins.
Feelings of fear, sadness and isolation can compound the physical side effects of chemotherapy, both during and after treatment. During chemotherapy, you have regular contact with and support from oncologists and nurses.
Everyone involved is working toward the same goal — completion of treatment with the best possible outcome. When it's over, you can feel as if you're alone, with no one to help you return to normal life or deal with fears of breast cancer recurrence.
Consider talking with a mental health professional or other health care professional who works with people who have cancer. It may also help to talk with someone who has been in the same situation. Connect with others through a hotline, support group or online community for people who have been treated for cancer. Genetic profile. For certain types of breast cancer such as hormone receptor positive breast cancer, your doctor may have your cancer cells tested to learn more about their genetic makeup.
Gene expression profiling tests, such as Oncotype DX, EndoPredict and MammaPrint, may help predict the risk of recurrence and give your doctor an idea of how your cancer cells might respond to chemotherapy. If it's not clear whether you'd benefit from chemotherapy, these tests can be helpful. It looks like your browser does not have JavaScript enabled.
Please turn on JavaScript and try again. Important Phone Numbers. Get the facts. Your options Have chemotherapy after your surgery for early-stage breast cancer. Don't have chemotherapy. Key points to remember Chemotherapy "chemo" is sometimes used after surgery for early-stage breast cancer to help lower the chances that your breast cancer will come back. Some types of cancer have a very small chance of coming back.
Women who have these types of cancer may not need chemo. There are gene tests that may show whether having chemo will help you reduce your chances that the cancer will return. Your age, type of cancer, tumour size, and hormone receptor status have an effect on how well chemo will work to keep your cancer from coming back. Different medicines used for chemo have different side effects. Your doctor can give you other medicines to help you deal with side effects like nausea and vomiting.
Some women are bothered a lot by the side effects, but some aren't. What is breast cancer? When is chemotherapy used to treat early-stage breast cancer? The type of added treatment you have depends on the stage and classification of your breast cancer: Stage: How far the cancer has spread in your breast and whether it has spread to nearby tissues or other organs is called the stage.
This is one of the most important things in choosing the treatment option that is right for you. If breast cancer cells have spread to your lymph nodes, there is a greater risk that they may also have spread to other places in your body. Added treatment, including chemo, may help destroy cancer cells in your body. Classification: Breast cancer is classified according to what the cancer cells look like under a microscope.
This tells your doctor how fast the cancer cells are growing and dividing and where they may have started in the breast tissue. If your cancer cells are growing and dividing quickly, then chemo may help you.
When cancer is the kind that grows quickly, doctors call it "aggressive" or "poorly differentiated. What are the risks of chemotherapy? Short-term side effects can include: Nausea and vomiting. Loss of appetite. Hair thinning or hair loss. Mouth sores. Increased chance of bruising, bleeding, and infection. Memory and concentration problems. Long-term side effects of chemotherapy can include: Early menopause, which means not being able to have children anymore.
It also can include symptoms like hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and thinning bones osteoporosis. Concentration problems that may last for many months after your treatments are finished. In rare cases, heart damage and a higher risk of other types of cancers, such as leukemia. Why might your doctor recommend chemotherapy? Your doctor might recommend chemotherapy "chemo" after surgery if: You are younger than Women younger than 35 usually have a more aggressive type of breast cancer.
Your breast cancer was bigger than a pea. Breast cancers that are at least 1 cm 0. Your breast cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under your arm. If that's the case, there is a bigger chance that the cancer may also have spread to other places in your body. Your breast cancer is HER-2 positive or triple-negative. These types of cancer tend to grow faster and spread more quickly.
Compare your options. Compare Option 1 Have chemotherapy after surgery Don't have chemotherapy. Compare Option 2 Have chemotherapy after surgery Don't have chemotherapy.
Have chemotherapy after surgery Have chemotherapy after surgery Most chemotherapy chemo medicines are injected into a vein in your hand or arm. This is called an IV. Sometimes the medicine is a pill that you take at home. Sometimes it's a combination of the two. You will go to a hospital or clinic for each IV treatment, but you won't stay overnight.
Treatments last from 10 minutes to an hour or longer. You have a number of treatments several weeks apart. A complete course of chemotherapy may take a few months or a whole year. Some women need to have a special catheter inserted if it's hard to find a vein for the IV.
This catheter stays in place between treatments. Breast cancer may come back anyway. Short-term side effects may include such things as nausea and vomiting, fatigue, hair loss, and mouth sores. Long-term side effects may include early menopause. Don't have chemotherapy Don't have chemotherapy You will have regular checkups with your doctor to make sure that the cancer hasn't come back. Depending on what type of breast cancer you have and how far it has spread, there may be a higher chance of your cancer coming back.
Personal stories about choosing chemotherapy for breast cancer These stories are based on information gathered from health professionals and consumers. What matters most to you? Reasons to have chemotherapy after surgery Reasons not to have chemotherapy. I want to do everything possible to treat my breast cancer.
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