Breast Cancer Treatment, Stage 0 Treatment Options: When needed, breast cancer treatment stage 0 breast cancer is usually very successful. The five-year survival rate for treatment of stage 0 is about 100%. This very early stage of the disease of breast cancer is not always actually cancer. Instead, it's often a condition qualifying as precancerous condition. Treatment isn not always needed, and often close observation of the patient may be enough. Treatments differ depending on what kind of stage 0 cancer the patient has. Surgery is a standard breast cancer treatment, stage 0 option. For smaller tumors, one might elect for a lumpectomy, in which only abnormal cells and some surrounding tissue is removed. Some patients choose a mastectomy, in which the entire breast is removed, and after which, many patients choose breast reconstruction surgery. Radiation therapy is also a standard breast cancer treatment, stage 0 therapy. Radiation therapy attacks abnormal cells that surgery may have missed and reduced the risk of more cancer. Hormone therapy with Tamoxifen after surgery also may help prevent cancer from developing in the same or opposite breast later. Bilateral mastectomy is another treatment option, the removal of both breasts, which some women choose because their concern for cancer is great, or they may have a strong family history of fatal breast cancer. This is a rather extreme approach to breast cancer treatment, stage 0.

Breast cancer treatment, stage I is for the very early stage of breast cancer, and signifies that the cancer has not spread beyond the breast itself. Surgery is a standard breast cancer treatment, stage I option. Radiation therapy also is standard after lumpectomy surgery. Chemotherapy is also standard treatment, where drugs that attack cancer cells are administered after the lumpectomy procedure, and reduces the risk of the cancer’s return. Hormone therapy is sometimes used as breast cancer therapy, stage I in women with hormone-receptor-positive cancers. Biological therapy is also a new approach to breast cancer treatment, and is useful in about twenty-five percent of women with breast cancer. Clinical trials may also be available for women who would choose to use cutting-edge treatments, and may include new drugs, new treatments, and new combinations of drugs.
Breast cancer treatment, stage II is for when the cancer is still contained in the breast mostly, and perhaps nearby lymph nodes. Survival rates with breast cancer treatments, stage II are high, around eighty-eight percent. Treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, biological therapy if appropriate, and clinical trials.
For breast cancer treatment, stage III, the five year survival rate is still around fifty to fifty-six percent. The cancer will not have spread far beyond the lymph nodes, and treatments are usually more effective if combined. Treatment options are chemotherapy first, then surgery, hormone therapy, hormone therapy, biological therapy if appropriate, clinical trials, and radiation therapy.
Breast cancer treatment, stage IV is for when the cancer has spread far beyond the lymph nodes and may include the bones, brain, lungs, or liver. Breast cancer treatment, stage IV does not yet provide a cure, however combined treatments may slow down the spread of the cancer and extend the life of the patient. Along with the typical abovementioned treatment methods, stage IV treatment will also include medications to combat pain, nausea, fatigue, and infections.