Breast cancer treatment is usually a multi-pronged approach. The most common breast cancer treatment plan, in this order, involves surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and hormonal therapy. But there are many different types of breast cancer, so there are many variations in treatment. Also, the stage of breast cancer (0 through IV) will determine which treatments are best.

Surgery

Surgery is often the first step in breast cancer treatment. Removal of the lump and the cancerous tissue is imperative in most cases to keep the cancer from spreading any further. Depending on the stage (which is judged by the size and the spread of the disease) a woman with breast cancer may have a mastectomy or a lumpectomy.

A mastectomy is removal of the entire breast, where a lumpectomy saves the majority of breast tissue but removes only the lump itself and the very nearby affected breast tissue. A doctor will recommend which is the safest course of action for each type of cancer. A Stage I cancer, which has not spread beyond the lump maybe be treated with a lumpectomy and radiation, for instance, where a wider spread cancer like Stage IIB or III involves much more breast and surrounding tissues and may require a complete mastectomy for the best prognosis. During surgery, the surrounding lymph nodes may be removed as well, if the cancer could have spread to these areas. In some cases, the breast can be reconstructed during the cancer surgery or at a later time.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is not always a part of breast cancer treatment. If the cancer was caught very early before it had spread into the tissues of the surrounding area or the lymph nodes, chemo may not be recommended. When it is, it's the introduction of medication given through an IV that kills system-wide cancer cells that may have spread beyond the lump or tumor that was removed. Cancer cells divide rapidly, and the substance in the chemo therapy attacks those cells. There are side effects with chemotherapy, but there are medications that can help make these much milder than they used to be.

Radiation

Radiation breast cancer treatment is usually the third stage, after surgery and chemo. This targets a specific area of the body, such as the breast, to destroy any remaining cancer cells. In some cases, surgery and radiation are given without chemotherapy, depending on how small and localized the cancer was.

The use of radiation can reduce the chances of breast cancer coming back by about 70%, and the side effects are local to the area treated, and often tolerated much better than chemo side effects.

For those with a hormone-receptor positive types of breast cancer, hormonal therapy is also given to help prevent recurrence. This therapy lowers the effectiveness and amount of estrogen in the system, which can help shrink any remaining cancer cells and prevent a relapse. For some types of this cancer, surgical removal of the reproductive organs may be an option, as well. For certain type of cancer, known as hormone-receptor negative cancer, hormonal therapy is ineffective and can even be harmful.




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While no one wants to hear of other people being stricken with cancer, celebrities with breast cancer often use their illness to help make people more aware of the risks of breast cancer as well as give others with the disease hope that they can overcome it as well.

Edie Falco

Edie Falco, star of both HBO shows "The Sopranos" and "OZ" was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was a young 40 years old, in 2003. She didn't tell people at first, but instead secretly went into treatment. She didn't reveal her cancer until after she was declared cancer free, but after that talked about openly. She was only secretive because she didn't want to be asked constantly how she was feeling and if she was all right.

Jaclyn Smith

Jaclyn Smith whom everyone knows as Kelly Garret, one of "Charlie's Angels" from the same-named TV show of the 1970s, was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 56 years old in 2002. Most cases of breast cancer occur in women who are 55 years or older. Jaclyn was treated with a lumpectomy and radiation, because the disease was caught early during a routine self-exam. She works with groups like Susan G. Komen for the Cure and talks publicly about early detection and breast cancer risks.

Christina Applegate

Christina Applegate is one of the youngest and most vocal celebrities with breast cancer. She was diagnosed in 2008 when she was only 36 years old. The former star of "Married with Children" was filming her new successful hit show "Samantha Who?" when she was diagnosed. She tested positive for a gene mutation that greatly increases the risk of breast cancer. And because her mother had also been diagnosed with breast cancer more than once, making heredity just one more risk factor for the young woman, she opted to not just have the breast with the cancer removed, but to have both removed. This double mastectomy was a preventative measure to stave off any future cancer. Applegate speaks out for the available of MRI testing for women of all income levels, because it was this test that detected her cancer early and has probably saved her life by reducing her risk of the cancer spreading or recurring.

Melissa Etheridge

Rocker Melissa Etheridge is one of the most recognizable celebrities with breast cancer. She was diagnosed at age 43 in 2004. She had a lumpectomy, which removes only the lump, and then an aggressive course of chemotherapy to help prevent spread and recurrence. She caught the cancer while giving herself a self-exam in the shower, and gave a performance in 2005 at the Grammy awards while bald, after having lost her hair to the chemotherapy. Many people in her family died of cancer, so she is now an outspoken advocate of prevention and research.



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Most of the common signs of breast cancer are signs that you'll notice right away:

Blood or discharge from a nipple

A nipple that has suddenly become inverted (a nipple that's pointing inward) or a nipple that's situated differently than it was before, or changed shape or size.

A crusty nipple or flaking skin on the nipple

Puckering, dimpling or pitting of the skin of the breast, with or without redness

Breast tenderness and pain with no other explanation such as hormones or your cycle

A change in the size or shape of the breast

Those possible signs of breast cancer are relatively easy to spot. But even though a lump or a change in a specific area of the breast is often a potential sign, this can be the hardest one for most women to detect.

That's because breast tissue is naturally lumpy in spots. A woman giving herself a breast exam may feel normal tissue and worry that it's a lump, or may feel a very small lump an mistake it for normal, glandular breast tissue. Regular mammograms can help detect lumps that you can't feel with your fingers or that are disguised as normal breast tissue. But regular self-exams can help you distinguish the difference between lumps or cysts and normal tissue.

If you feel something suspicious during a self-exam, first relax. Feel the same spot on the other breast carefully to compare. You may find that the opposite breast closely mirrors what you've found, confirming that's it the normal texture of your breasts in that area. If you don't find a matching lump or bump on the opposite breast, take a break and try not to dwell or worry. About 80% of all lumps are benign, so even if you have discovered a lump in your breast, there's a good chance that it's merely a cyst.

Later, repeat the exam to find the lump. Then recheck the other breast. You may find that the tissue seems normal now where it did not before. If you still can't find a matching texture in the other breast, then have it checked by your doctor.

Lumps are one of the most panic-inducing signs of breast cancer because everyone knows that's a possibility, even though a lump isn't likely to be anything dangerous. Another potential sign of breast cancer is even more subtle than a lump and can be missed except when you do regular exams is an area than changes without a lump being present.

If an area on your breast has grown harder or softer, that's something you want to have your doctor check into immediately. There doesn't have to be a lump present. This is one of the reasons that all women should do a monthly breast exam. The more you do the exams, the more familiar you are with your breasts. The more familiar you are with them, the sooner you'll be able to detect a change that could be one of the signs of breast cancer.




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Any woman who suddenly detects a lump in her breast is probably immediately going to think of the symptoms of breast cancer. But benign lumps and cysts are quite normal. In fact, 80% of all lumps that are detected in self-exams, during bathing or during normal activities are not breast cancer.

Some of the benign lumps can cause similar symptoms as lumps that are cancerous, however, because they also displace tissue and can change the shape of the breast. So finding a lump does not necessarily mean that you have cancer.

Some of the most common symptoms of breast cancer usually show themselves in the breast tissue itself, the skin or the nipple. Commons signs are:

A lump

An area on the breast that feels thicker or different than the rest of the breast, even if it doesn't feel like a lump

A change in the shape of the breast

A change in the breast's size

Dimpling or puckering of the skin of the breast

Red skin with no other explanation

Pitted skin

Bloody nipple discharge

Crusting or flaking of the skin of the nipple

A nipple that's inverted (pointing inward) or changed in appearance, such as pointing up, down or the side when it was not before

A change in the shape of a nipple

Unexplained breast tenderness or pain

One of the more important things to consider when you're looking at symptoms of breast cancer is to know what your breast looks and feels like normally so it's easy to compare. Breasts are not smooth globes of tissue. There are bumps, lumps and rope-like structures within the breast, especially in the top and the part of your breast closest to your armpit. The insides and bottoms of the breast are mostly fat, so these areas will be less lumpy and softer. And during hormonal changes like just before or during your period, there may be an even bigger difference in the way these different tissues feel beneath your hands and fingers.

Older women will tend to have more fatty tissue and less glandular lumps than younger women. SO when you're checking your breasts for symptoms of breast cancer, bear in mind how the different areas feel that so you know what's normally part of your breast and what's new and different.

If you find something in one breast, it's important not to panic. Carefully feel the matching area on the other breast. If you're feeling a normal part of the breast it's going to feel similar on both sides. If you're unsure, then see your doctor for an exam to be on the safe side. Don't hesitate to see your doctor if you find a lump that doesn't' match on the other breast and that remains after your next period has come and gone. Other symptoms of breast cancer like discharge, inverted nipples and skin issues mentioned above should always be checked out by a doctor.




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