To date, breast cancer remains one of the most complex health issues that may easily lead to the terminal stage of cancer development (Breast cancer – health professional version, 2016). Although the causes of breast cancer have not been fully identified yet, it has been proven that overexposure to heavy doses of radiation, chemicals, etc., as well as heavy smoking, family history, alcohol abuse, exposure to the sun, viruses such as Epstein-Barr virus (i.e., DNA and RNA viruses), etc. may lead to the development of the disease (Richardson et al., 2015).
As a rule, the process of disease diagnosing includes carrying out a biopsy. However, at the earliest stages of cancer, detecting the disease is possible with the help of the breast MRI or a mammography. In contrast to the MRI, which presupposes that the image of the tissue should be retrieved with the help of magnetic fields, the mammography tool involves the use of x-rays (Breast cancer diagnosis, 2016). Therefore, a mammography is likely to have adverse effects on the patient’s health and, possibly, the further treatment process.
The choice of the treatment type is restricted to three ones, i.e., the local therapy, the systemic approach, and the adjuvant therapy. The treatment process often presupposes a surgery, i.e., the systemic method. In this case, a surgeon makes an incision, through which the cancerous cells are removed together with a part of the regular tissue. The treatment does not presuppose a complete removal of the breast tissue; the postoperative appearance may include a small scar and an indentation (Breast cancer, 2016).
Apart from surgery, the rotation therapy is often suggested at early stages of cancer development. The chemical therapy is typically suggested as the means of managing the disease prior the surgery or in the cases when the latter cannot be performed. Chemotherapy, as well as radiotherapy, permits shrinking the tumor to the size at which the surgery can be performed. In addition, the hormone treatment can be viewed as an opportunity for breast cancer patients to recover (Breast cancer, 2016).
The concept of adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapy has recently gained popularity among the people fighting breast cancer. The specified type of treatment is typically viewed as a supplementary one after the major issue has been addressed and the tumor has either shrunk or been removed. The treatment method in question implies addressing the possible instance of recidivism and is, therefore, aimed at preventing cancer from occurring again (Breast cancer, 2016).
Although the phenomenon of alternative therapy is not viewed as a legitimate treatment tool by most therapists, it still exists and, therefore, deserves being mentioned as a concept. However, one must bear in mind that alternative treatment leads to lethal results in most cases and is disregarded by most experts and scholars as an inefficient tool (Breast cancer, 2016).
When detailing the process of addressing cancer, one must also mention that the process of cancer treatment is very painful and excruciating. Since it also takes an impressive amount of time, the patients clearly need support to recover successfully. Therefore, it is essential that family members should be involved in the patient’s struggle with the disease and help them maintain emotional stability (Breast cancer, 2016). Since the disease develops fast and can be the cure at early stages, spreading awareness concerning breast cancer should be viewed as imperative nowadays.
Reference List
Breast cancer. (2016). Web.
Breast cancer diagnosis. (2016). Web.
Breast cancer – health professional version. (2016). Web.
Richardson, A. K., Currie, M. J., Robinson, B. A., Morrin, H., Phung, Y., Pearson, J. F., Anderson, T. P., Potter, J. D., & Walker, L. C. (2015). Cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr Virus in Breast Cancer. PLoS One, 18(2), e0118989. Web.