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Current Medical Treatment in the US for Stage III Breast Cancer

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Treating Stage III Breast Cancer

When cancer moves to Stage 2, it is still relatively early in the game. Treatment options are pursued more aggressively than in Stage 1, and yet survival rates remain encouraging at 65% after 8 years. But just as the days become shorter, and the leaves and temperatures begin to fall as summer fades into autumn, so too do the seasons of breast cancer begin to change noticeably as Stage 2 transitions into Stage 3. While there are still rays of hope, a darker prognosis now comes into view, as survival rates drop below 50% for the first time during Stage 3. Autumn represents the border that separates the heat and light of summer from the cold and darkness of winter, and in a similar way Stage 3 breast cancer occupies the borderland between hope and despair.

Stage 3 is an intermediate stage in this progressive disorder. In most ways it is a continuation of Stage 2 but in a more threatening and worrisome form. The tumor in the breast has now clearly metastasized, growing larger than five centimeters while increasing its colonization of the lymph node system. A Stage 3 tumor will have spread to at least four, but perhaps as many as ten or more lymph nodes, while often expanding in size to reach the chest wall and infecting new areas near the breast.

Protocols of Treatment
The protocols used to treat Stage 2 are essentially the same as those used in Stage 3. The primary difference is that by Stage 3 surgery to remove cancerous tissue is all but mandatory. While it may be possible to get the cancer out with a lumpectomy, which only removes the tumor plus some surrounding tissue, a mastectomy has generally been the standard therapy for Stage 3 cancers. In some instances, an aggressive combination of other treatment modalities may be able to prevent a mastectomy, but this is not usually the outcome once Stage 3 has been reached.

Chemotherapy represents the first line of defense in both Stage 2 and Stage 3. Chemical poisons can interfere with the ability of cancer cells to reproduce, which can shrink a tumor and make its surgical removal cleaner and easier. In addition, chemotherapy will also be used after surgery to prevent any new cancer cells from forming and multiplying.

Radiation therapy is also normally used in the surgically affected area after a lumpectomy or mastectomy. Radiation damages the DNA of cancer cells, which can help keep them from reproducing. Like chemotherapy, radiation therapy is a radical response that can cause sickness and damage to non-cancerous cells as well as those that are malignant; but breast cancer is an extreme disease that necessitates extreme measures.

Some breast cancer cells feed on hormones, and hormone therapy is designed to deprive them of that food source. In premenopausal women, the preferred drug for counteracting the effects of hormones is Tamoxifen, while a class of drugs called Aromitase inhibitors are used to suppress hormone levels in postmenopausal women. A more drastic solution in premenopausal women involves the removal of the ovaries, which are responsible for the secretion of the hormones used as fuel by some types of cancer cells.

In 25% of breast cancer patients, a protein called HER2 has been implicated in the proliferation of cancerous cells. Biological therapy to stop this process involves the consumption of the drug Herceptin, which interferes with the protein-absorption process. Biological therapy used in combination with chemotherapy is especially effective in stopping cancer cells that use HER2 as a building block from spreading and wrecking havoc.

Finally, when new potential treatments for cancer move to the experimental stage, cancer sufferers have the opportunity of volunteering for clinical trials. Stage 3 cancer patients make good subjects for clinical trials, because this stage is the last one where a reasonable hope of remission still remains. If a new treatment can be effective against breast cancer that has reached this point, then it could hold great promise for breast cancer sufferers everywhere.

Stage 3 is Not a Death Sentence
The good news is that this level of breast cancer unfolds in three distinct phases, known as A, B, and C, and is only at level 3B that the death rate surpasses the 50th percentile. If breast cancer can be caught in the early part of Stage 3, then survival rates are actually near those of Stage 2. Women who have entered Stage 3 need to seek treatment immediately, if they have not already done so, while it is still statistically possible to beat the odds.

Beyond the normal treatments recommended by medical professionals, there is no question that good physical and mental health in general are advantageous in the battle against breast cancer. Exercise, proper diet, fun activity, and a relentlessly upbeat attitude can all be staunch allies in the fight against this deadly disease. It is also critically important that anyone who has been treated for breast cancer continue to practice preventative medicine by going to the doctor for regular follow-up visits. Many neglect this step, and end up regretting it when their cancer returns. Stage 3 is a challenging phase, but quick and determined action by those who reach this stage can literally make the difference between life and death.

Related Articles: 
Current Medical Treatment for Stage I and Stage II Breast Cancer
Current Medical Treatment in the US for Stage IV Breast Cancer
The Fight against Breast Cancer

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