Types of drugs and treatment for breast cancer

After going through breast cancer checks and being diagnosed positive for the disease, of course, you must immediately undergo treatment. This treatment is given to control breast cancer, prolong life expectancy, and perhaps even cure it. Then, how do you treat breast cancer and what are the medications and treatments that are generally given?

Various treatments and drugs for breast cancer

There are several ways to treat breast cancer. However, before recommending the right type of treatment, doctors will first consider the following:

• The type of breast cancer you have.
• The size and location of the breast lump or tumor.
• Spread of cancer cells or breast cancer stage.
• HER2 protein, estrogen, and progesterone status.
• Age, including whether you have menopause.
• Screening or test results.
• Your overall health condition.
• Desire yourself.

After considering this, here are some options for how to treat and treat breast cancer, which are generally recommended by doctors:

1. Operation

Surgery is the main method of choice for breast cancer treatment. There are several types of breast cancer surgery that are generally performed, namely:

• Breast conserving surgery

This operation, also called a lumpectomy, is performed by removing the affected part of the breast and a small portion of the surrounding healthy tissue.

• Mastectomy

A mastectomy is a procedure that removes one or both breasts to remove cancer cells.

• Removal of lymph nodes

This operation is also called a sentinel lymph node biopsy or axillary lymph node biopsy, which is also a form of breast biopsy. This is generally done to find out if your breast cancer has spread to the lymph nodes around the breast.

This type of surgery helps the doctor know if there are cancer cells that need to be removed in the area.

• Breast reconstruction

This operation is performed to improve or restore the appearance of the breasts after tissue removal. This procedure can be done at the same time as breast tissue removal or at a later time. There are two types of breast reconstruction surgery, namely using implants or surgery flap by using tissue from other areas of your body, such as your stomach, back, thighs, or buttocks.

Always consult with your doctor about the choice of surgical procedures or how to treat breast cancer that is right for your condition.

2. Radiation

Radiation therapy or breast cancer radiotherapy is done using high-powered X-rays that are targeted at killing cancer cells. This procedure is often performed to destroy breast cancer cells that escaped or were not removed during surgery.

3. Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the most recognized method of treating cancer, including in the breast. Chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer is done by injecting the drug directly into a vein (intravenously) or by mouth (orally).

4. Targeted therapy

Targeted therapy is a way of treating breast cancer by killing cancer cells without damaging the surrounding healthy cells. This treatment is generally given if your breast cancer cells show positive HER2 (a genetic change that can trigger the growth of cancer cells).

The drugs in targeted therapy are specifically designed to block the localized growth and spread of cancer cells. Medicines that are usually used in targeted therapy, namely:

• Trastuzumab (Herceptin), which is given for early and advanced breast cancer.
• Pertuzumab (Perjeta), this drug is given before or after surgery for early and advanced breast cancer.
• Ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla or TDM-1), can be given after surgery in early or advanced patients who have previously been given trastuzumab or chemotherapy.
• Fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu), generally for treating breast cancer that cannot be removed by surgery or has spread to other parts of the body.
• Lapatinib (Tykerb), a drug given to patients with advanced stages.
• Neratinib (Nerlynx), this drug is given to patients with early stage breast cancer after treatment with trastuzumab for a year.
• Tucatinib (Tukysa), which is usually used to treat advanced patients.
• MTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) inhibitors, these drugs block mTOR, a protein that helps cancer cells grow and divide. This is an oral medication commonly given to women who are past menopause and who have positive HER2 hormone-receptor breast cancer.

Be aware of possible drug resistance

However, some people can be resistant to breast cancer drugs, such as lapatinib. However, a study published in the journal CELL Reports found a combination drug, a bromodomain BET inhibitor, could prevent the development of resistance to lapatinib in HER2-positive breast cancer cells.

As with other types of therapy, how to treat breast cancer with targeted therapy can cause side effects, such as diarrhea, sore, red, blistered, and peeling skin on the hands and feet. However, the side effects of HER2-positive breast cancer targeted therapy are generally tolerable.

Always consult with your doctor to determine the right way to treat breast cancer.

5. Hormone therapy

The American Cancer Society says two out of three breast cancer cases are hormone receptor-positive. The cancer cells in this case have receptors (proteins) that attach to the hormones estrogen (ER-positive) and / or progesterone (PR-positive), which help the cancer cells grow and spread.

In this type of breast cancer, hormone therapy is the most appropriate way to treat it.

Hormone therapy for breast cancer is a form of systemic therapy. In other words, the drug can enter cancer cells in all parts of the body, including the breast. The goal is to keep estrogen so as not to trigger the growth of cancer cells.

Hormone therapy is often used after surgery as an adjunct treatment procedure for breast cancer. This type of therapy helps reduce the risk of the cancer returning after surgery.

However, hormone therapy can also be given before surgery begins. In addition, this therapy is also often used to treat cancer that has returned after treatment or has spread to other parts of the body.

In doing hormone therapy, there are several ways that can be done, namely:

• Inhibits estrogen receptors

Breast cancer hormone therapy drugs commonly used, namely s elective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), such as tamoxifen, raloxifen, and toremifene.

• Lowering estrogen levels

This type of hormone therapy drug, namely aromatase inhibitors (stops the production of estrogen), such as letrozole, anastrozole, and exemestane.

• Eliminate or suppress ovarian function

This procedure is medically known as ovarian suppression, which is performed by eliminating or suppressing the function of the ovaries, which produce estrogen during the premenopausal period. Medicines that can be used in this procedure are goserelin and leuprolide.

This type of breast cancer treatment has side effects, such as:

• Mood swings.
• Hot flashes or a hot sensation from inside the body.
• Vagina dry and often experience discharge.
• Headache.
• Nausea.
• Pain or soreness in the bones.
• Pain in the injection site.

6. Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a method of treating breast cancer using drugs that stimulate the immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells.

An example of a drug for breast cancer immunotherapy is atezolizumab (Tecentriq) which targets PD-l1, a protein found in some tumor cells and immune cells. Blocking this protein helps increase the immune system's response to breast cancer cells. Later, the tumor will shrink and its growth will slow down even further.

Atezolizumab is given intravenously in a vein every 2 weeks. In addition, atezolizumab can be used together with abraxane (albumin-bound paclitaxel) for patients with advanced triple negative breast cancer whose tumors produce the PD-L1 protein.

Although effective, atezolizumab has side effects, such as fatigue, coughing, nausea, loss of appetite, constipation, and diarrhea. Sometimes, these drugs actually remove control of the immune system, so that the immune system starts attacking healthy parts of the body. These side effects can lead to serious and life-threatening problems.

So if you feel various new side effects after taking the drug, you should immediately consult a doctor. If the side effects harm the body, doctors will change the treatment of breast cancer by finding alternatives, such as high doses of corticosteroids.

How long will breast cancer treatment or medication take?

The length of treatment for breast cancer varies from person to person. The reason is, the condition of the body, drug tolerance, and the severity of the condition of each person are different.

For example, radiation therapy can last for five consecutive days or three weeks, depending on how many therapy sessions you have.

Likewise with chemotherapy, this procedure can take 12 weeks, but this does not include the additional time needed if your health condition deteriorates. While hormone therapy usually takes longer, up to years.

So that every method of treating breast cancer that is sought optimally, remember to always follow the doctor's recommendations, suggestions, orders, and recommendations while undergoing breast cancer treatment.

If your doctor provides certain restrictions, you need to comply with them so that your breast cancer treatment is more effective. Don't forget to check with your doctor regularly according to the schedule given.

Various changes that occur during breast cancer treatment

Medicines and various breast cancer treatments may change your life. Here are some of the changes in your life that may happen to you during breast cancer treatment:

• Feelings are mixed up

You may feel shocked, sad, angry, disappointed, afraid, even devastated when diagnosed with breast cancer. Having these feelings is perfectly normal, but not too long. Get up and keep thinking positive and ask for help and support from those closest to you.

• Physical changes

Breast cancer drugs and treatments do have side effects that will change your physique, such as hair loss, weight loss, or a change in the shape of your breasts.

• Fertility problems

Chemotherapy and hormonal therapy can have an impact on your fertility. This will leave you temporarily or even permanently infertile.

• Change in sex life

Significant hormonal changes will cause you to experience erratic mood swings, decreased sexual desire, vaginal dryness, and fatigue, so having sex with your partner may be a more challenging challenge.

Various side effects of breast cancer treatment and drugs

Medicines and treatments for breast cancer do have short-term side effects that you may feel. These side effects certainly make you feel uncomfortable and sometimes can make your health condition deteriorate.

If you experience it, it's better to consult a doctor to get the right treatment. However, you can also follow the tips below to deal with the various side effects of these medications.

• Bone and joint pain

You can generally feel these side effects when undergoing hormone therapy treatment. Apart from medicine from a doctor, you can also treat bone and joint pain by doing warm or cold compresses, acupuncture, massage, and maintaining an ideal body weight by adopting a healthy diet and exercising regularly.

• Hot flashes

When you feel heat stroke or hot flashes, You can try to overcome this by wearing thin clothing, cooling your body in an air conditioner or fan, showering before bed, massage, acupuncture, yoga, or avoiding fatty intake. You also need to avoid triggers hot flashes, such as stress, smoking, alcohol, caffeine, hot food drinks, saunas, or hot baths.

• Fatigue

How to deal with fatigue when you treat breast cancer, namely by getting enough rest and making your body fit. You need to eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, take naps, organize your daily activities, or do other techniques, such as acupuncture, meditation, massage, or yoga.

• Hair loss

Hair loss is synonymous with cancer treatment, including breast cancer. If this happens to you, you can choose a very short haircut, use sunscreen to protect your head, keep your head warm, use a wig including finding information on proper wig care, wearing a hat, and making sure you, your family, and relatives. ready to accept a change in your appearance.

• Nausea

Nausea often occurs when you are undergoing chemotherapy and other therapies in the treatment of breast cancer. To overcome this, you need to eat small portions but often, eat foods that don't make you nauseous, avoid greasy foods, consume ginger drinks, and sit down after eating.

Instead, you need to meet your body's nutrition by eating foods for breast cancer, which contain fiber, protein, antioxidants, and beta carotene. Physical activity or light exercise is needed to keep your body fit. Talk to your doctor about physical activity that is suitable for your condition.

Complications from breast cancer treatment that may occur

In addition to the short-term side effects that you may experience, breast cancer medications and treatments can also cause long-term complications. However, not all patients will experience this complication. Here are some of the complications that may arise.

• Lymphedema, which is a chronic condition caused by the accumulation of lymph fluid. This condition causes swelling of the breasts, arms, or hands where the surgery is located.
• It's the heart.
• Teeth problems.
• Osteoporosis.
• Blood clot.
• Concern about memory loss and cognitive function.

Tips for caring for breast cancer patients in treatment

Living with breast cancer is not easy, both for the patient himself and the person caring for it. For those of you who are caring, you generally help the patient in any way that can leave you exhausted and prone to depression.

In order to avoid this, you can follow the tips below in treating breast cancer patients who are being treated:

• Don't do everything alone. Make sure other family members or others help you.
• Occasionally do fun activities with the patient.
• Provide emotional support to the patient by being a good listener of his feelings.
• Give yourself time when you are free.
• Don't forget to take care of your own health.
• Maintain good communication with patients.
• If you are the partner of the patient, you need to maintain a harmonious and intimate relationship with the patient.