Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts from the cells of the breast. A malignant tumor is the group of cancer cells, which can attack the surrounding tissues or spread to nearby areas in the body. Generally women are more prone to breast cancer as compared to men. Breast cancer is the major health problem in women and found in one in every eight women.

There are various types of cancer treatment available but chemotherapy is the most result oriented treatment for breast cancer. Treatment totally depends on the tumor node that is negative or positive, HER2-positive or negative and hormone receptor-positive or negative.

Chemotherapy drugs are taken orally or intravenously, that is direct into a vein. When the drug enters blood, it travels to all parts of the body and reach the cancer cells spread outside breast. It is considered that chemotherapy is the complete form of cancer treatment for breast cancer.

There are different types of chemotherapy drugs that kill cancer cells in different ways, also combination of drugs used to maximize the effect of treatment. For early breast cancer you can use more than one drug to end several months of treatment.

Chemotherapy gives best results but also gives some side effects such as nausea, vomiting, low number of red blood cells, mouth souring, hair loss, poor appetite, bleeding and most important early menopause. Some chemotherapy drugs can cause permanent menopause and it is very serious for young women.

Duration of chemotherapy depends on the type, stage, your current health and the combination of drugs used for treatment. For breast cancer it is given as a series of treatments for two to four weeks or over period of four to six months.

Your care giver or doctor use to keep gap between courses of treatment that can help to recover your body. Treatment can be given in clinic, at hospital or at home as well but in some type of chemotherapy you need to stay in hospital overnight.

Chemotherapy may reduce the chance of reappearance of cancer by small amount and it is found in women chance of cancer coming back is very high and thus chemotherapy treatment helps to reduce the chance of reappearance. Your doctor may give information about the right treatment and possible side effects for you.



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