Your doctor may talk about 'Local Treatment' (involving only your breast area and the associated lymph nodes) or 'Systemic Treatment' (involving your whole body, or system). If the breast cancer has spread beyond the immediate vicinity of the breast, you may also require local treatment in the affected areas - in combination with systemic treatment.

Your optimal breast cancer treatment plan may include both Local and Systemic treatments, either at the same time or at different times, depending on a number of variables including the 'Type' and 'Stage' of the cancer.

Early Detection Of Breast Cancer

'Local' Breast Cancer Treatment
The 2 major types of local breast cancer treatment are Surgery and Radiation:

1. Surgical Breast Cancer Treatment
There are currently 2 types of surgical breast cancer treatment:

• Lumpectomy - involves removing only the tumor (lump) and some surrounding tissue, but saving the rest of the breast.
  
• Mastectomy - involves complete removal of the affected breast and is usually followed by reconstructive surgery (using either implants or tissues removed from your belly or back).

Lymph Node Removal
The lymph nodes (under your arms) may also be affected by the cancer, and you may need to have them removed - either at the same time as your breast cancer surgery or in a follow-up operation.

There are 3 levels of lymph nodes and the surgeon may remove the first 2 levels in case they are affected - this is 'Standard Lymph Node Removal'. With 'Sentinel Lymph Node Removal' the surgeon removes only a few carefully selected nodes to test for the presence of cancer. If these 'Sentinel' nodes are affected the surgeon may then want to remove more nodes.

Common side effects of surgical breast cancer treatment include:

• loss of feeling around the area of surgery
  
• discomfort in the back of the arm or armpit that can migrate down the arm
  
• swelling of the armpit area immediately after surgery
  
• swelling of the arm that may not start until days, months, or years after surgery

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2. Radiation Breast Cancer Treatments
There are different ways of administering radiation as a treatment for breast cancer. Commonly a high-energy beam of radiation is targeted onto your breast area and lymph nodes. This treatment is often given to deal with any cancer cells that may remain after surgery, typically five days a week for about six weeks.

You may need radiation treatment:

• Following Lumpectomy - Radiation may be used to treat the entire breast. In the case of small cancers, radiation may be directed only at the cancer location and can be achieved by placing radiation into the space where the cancer used to be.
  
• Following Mastectomy - Radiation may be applied in the area where the breast used to be, especially if there is a significant chance that the cancer could come back.
  
• If your doctor thinks your lymph nodes may have cancer cells in them.

Common side effects of radiation breast cancer include feeling tired, skin irritation, and soreness and swelling in the treated area. Most of these side effects dissipate in the weeks or months following the treatment.

Systemic Breast Cancer Treatment
There are 3 types of 'Systemic' breast cancer treatments, which are used to effectively treat the whole body:

• Chemotherapy - Drugs may be used to kill the cancer cells. Often combinations of drugs are used together, or one after the other, in order to kill the different kinds of cells in the cancer.
  
• Hormone Therapy - Since the hormone estrogen can cause some breast cancer cells to grow, hormone therapy uses drugs (or surgery) to keep estrogen away from breast cancer cells. This only works on breast cancer that reacts to estrogen.
  
• Immune Therapy - Your immune system is naturally configured to fight disease and immune treatments help the immune system control or kill cancer cells. Herceptin (trastuzumab) is currently the most commonly used immune treatment for advanced breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Treatment By Chemotherapy
Drugs may be used to prevent the cancer cells growing, and kill them. Often combinations of drugs are used together, or one after the other, in order to kill the different kinds of cells in the cancer. The drug combinations are known by the first letters in the drugs' names. Primary combinations include:

• AC ± T - Adriamycin (chemical name: doxorubicin) with Cytoxan (chemical name: cyclophosphamide), with or without Taxol (chemical name: paclitaxel) or Taxotere (chemical name: docetaxel)
  
• AT - Adriamycin with Taxol or Taxotere
  
• CMF - Cytoxan, methotrexate, and fluorouracil (also called "5-FU" or 5-fluorouracil)
  
• CAF - Cytoxan, Adriamycin, and fluorouracil
  
• CEF - Cytoxan, epirubicin (brand name: Ellence), and fluorouracil
  
• FAC or CAF - fluorouracil, Adriamycin, and Cytoxan; these drugs are given in different orders

Following testing, your doctor should be able to tell you which drug "recipe" is most likely to work best for your particular case. Women with advanced breast cancer usually get one type of chemotherapy at a time. Chemotherapy is normally administered in the form of pills, or directly through a needle placed into your vein.

Your doctor will probably recommend chemotherapy if:

• Your lymph nodes had cancer
  
• The cancer is more than a centimeter (half an inch)
  
• Your breast cancer type is:"high grade", "lymphatic invasion", "vascular invasion", "hormone-receptor-negative", "high growth rate", or "HER2-positive". These kinds of cancer can grow and spread quickly.

Chemotherapy is not normally recommended for cancers with a low risk of spreading to other parts of the body.

Side Effects Of Chemotherapy Breast Cancer Treatment
Chemotherapy attacks all the fast-growing cells in your body (including cells in your mouth, nose, blood, immune system, digestive system and those that grow hair) not just the cancer cells. This causes side effects such as:

• nausea, vomiting or diarrhea
  
• mouth sores
  
• tiredness
  
• higher risk of infection
  
• hair loss
  
• aches and discomforts
  
• changes in your sense of taste and smell

Your doctor can prescribe supplemental medicines to reduce or remove most of these side effects, and most will dissipate in the weeks or months following treatment.

ORT Inc. can now offer You a revolutionary new option. We enable your oncologist to tailor your chemotherapy to YOUR specific tumor characteristics, regardless of stage. The benefit of this approach, is that we are able to provide more effective treatment to YOUR specific tumor 'Type', minimizing side effects to You.

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Breast Cancer Treatment By Hormone Therapy
Since the hormone estrogen can cause some breast cancer cells to grow, hormone therapy uses drugs (or surgery) to keep estrogen away from breast cancer cells. This only works on breast cancer that reacts to estrogen. The breast tumor has to be ER-positive (Estrogen-Receptor-positive), PR-positive (Progesterone-Receptor-positive), or both ER-positive and PR-positive. Hormone therapy works for women of all ages should not be confused with Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT - is taken by some women after menopause).

The 4 Kinds Of Hormone Therapy Teatments:
1. SERMs (Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators) - these drugs prevent estrogen from hooking up with receptors on the breast cancer cells thereby blocking their growth. You take SERMs (tamoxifen and others), in pill form, daily. You take tamoxifen for 5 years, but its benefits can last up to 10 years.

Side effects include hot flashes, vaginal dryness or discharge, irregular periods, nausea, cataracts, a higher risk of cancer in the lining of the uterus (rare), cancer in the wall of the uterus (more rare), and blood clots that can break off and travel to the lung or brain (more rare).

2. Aromatase Inhibitors (AIs) - There are 3 AI drugs: Arimidex (anastrozole), Femara (letrozole), and Aromasin (exemestane) which reduce the amount of estrogen made in the body after menopause. They are used only for women who have gone through menopause and who have breast cancer with hormone receptors, and are administered as a daily pill.

They are all effective in women with advanced or metastatic cancer, and Arimidex is also useful for early stages of cancer. Side effects include: nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, stomach pain, headaches, back pain, hot flashes, muscle and joint aches, throat pain.

Compared to tamoxifen, AIs cause fewer hot flashes and do not increase the risk for cancer of the uterus. The risk for blood clots is also lower with AIs, but the risk of osteoporosis is higher.

3. Estrogen Receptor Down Regulators (ERDs) - These drugs block and destroy the estrogen receptors on breast cancer cells, thereby preventing their growth. Currently the only available ERD is Faslodex (fulvestrant), which is used for women who:

• have cancer that has spread beyond the breast area
  
• have cancer with hormone receptors
  
• have gone through menopause
  
• have had other hormone therapy that stopped working

Faslodex is given as a monthly shot and side effects are similar to Aromatase Inhibitors.

4. Ovary Removal or "Shutdown" - is a very effective way to lower estrogen levels in women before menopause. This is may be done to treat women with Hormone-Receptor-positive breast cancer, and there are 3 main ways to do this:

• Remove The Ovaries Surgically
• Radiate The Ovaries To Prevent Estrogen Production
• Take Medication - Zoladex (Goserelin Acetate) Has The Brain Instruct The Ovaries To Stop Making Estrogen.

Zoladex can work as well as tamoxifen, and for some, Zoladex plus tamoxifen can work just as well as chemotherapy. Side effects are similar to menopause, including hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and weaker bones.

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Breast Cancer Treatment By Immune Therapy
Your immune system is naturally configured to fight disease and immune treatments help the immune system control or kill cancer cells. Herceptin (trastuzumab) is currently the most commonly used immune treatment for advanced breast cancer, it only works against breast cancers that have extra HER2 genes.

When there are extra HER2 genes, the cells make too many HER2 receptors which receive signals telling the cells to grow and spread. Herceptin blocks the receptors and hooks on to the cancer cells "marking" them. The immune system then notices these marked cells and destroys them.

Herceptin is administered (usually every 1 to 3 weeks) through a needle into the vein and can work either alone or in combination with chemotherapy. Side effects include flu-like symptoms Such as: chills, fever, nausea, vomiting, headache & pain. A rare side effect can be heart damage, so Herceptin is not given with other drugs that can also damage the heart. Other rare side effects include severe allergic reactions and lung problems.

Experimental Breast Cancer Treatments
Researchers are continuously seeking new breast cancer treatments, aiming to increase increase the potency of the treatment while decreasing any side effects. The only way to prove these new treatments is to test them in patients with breast cancer. The women who choose to take part in such 'clinical trials' get the best possible medical care and also the chance to receive either a new treatment or the best known treatment. If you agree to take part in such a trial you can rest assured that the new treatment has been carefully tested to make sure it is safe.

You can only get these new treatments if you join a clinical trial. To find out more about these trials, talk to your doctor, contact the National Cancer Institute at www.nci.nih.gov or at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237), or you can contact ORT Inc. at 866-894-8887.

New Proven Breast Cancer Treatment Option
ORT Inc. has developed a proven technology that allows your oncologist to tailor YOUR chemotherapy treatment to target YOUR specific tumor. This new approach identifies the drugs that YOUR specific tumor is resistant to, and enables your oncologist to provide YOU with a more effective treatment regimen while minimizing side effects.

Many studies agree that the earliest possible detection and diagnosis provides the cancer patient with the best possible outcome. The ORT Inc. technique achieves this, thereby minimizing occurrence of relapse, recurrence and/or metastasis (spreading of the cancer beyond the original site).

Furthermore, recent studies have indicated that patients respond more favorably when their treatment is based on detailed analytical results, rather than merely on the superficial determination of the cancer stage.

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