Why Is Treating Breast Cancer An Emergency?
Just like any other type of cancers, breast cancers also have their own stages and the emergency of treatment depends on such stages. If you are someone who is diagnosed with either the early stage of invasive breast cancer or you are detected with the ductal carcinoma in situ, then it is normal for you to get frightened. But before that you must understand the diagnosis process and the stages of your breast cancer treatment.
Always keep the following things in mind:
If breast cancer is identified at an early stage, it is curable:
Since the last several years, the doctors have been able to create some improvements in the treatment of breast cancer and 95% of the women are able to live a normal life post their treatment procedure. Bi normal life we mean that at some point after the treatment they have to visit the clinic for time to time checkup or need to follow a particular diet. But the patient no longer has to be under the strict guidelines as said by the doctor who has to visit the hospital regularly for their camo therapy or other treatment procedures.
You need not have to worry much since there is time:
Unlike some other cancers, breast cancer for the maximum time is not a kind of medical emergency and you can take your time to consider the best type of treatment for yourself. It is you and your family members who understand you better and so depending on the personality and stage you are in it is better to create the planning of the treatment process accordingly.
Gathering some information is important:
You have to gath8 some detailed information regarding your diagnosis and possible options for your treatment. This information and prior research is going to help you to identify the best option of treatment for yourself.
Now this breast cancer has become a very common type of cancer and each year more than a quarter of 1 million times a diagnosis of breast cancer takes place and one out of 8 women have a chance for developing the breast cancer during her lifetime in some or the other form. Even though the diagnosis of breast cancer is scary, you need to understand that a lot of options have been opened up recently.
For beating this medical issue it is very important to stay updated since knowledge is everything. So whoever you are, you must remember the following things.
For most of the time the diagnosis of breast cancer is a type of mental emergency and not a medical emergency:
Just at the moment the patient learns that they have grown a tumor in their breast they want to remove it as soon as possible through the help of a surgery. But it is important to note down that not every type of breast cancer is the same and there are several treatment options. That is why, it is always better to take some time exploring the different kinds of treatment options of breast cancer. As there are various types as well as success of this cancer so they can get diagnosed at different stages.
The patient need to stay emotionally strong:
A very few women are actually mentally prepared for the diagnosis and treatment of their breast cancer and most of the women get mentally distracted during the time of the treatment. So, it is very important for all the patients to have a group of supporters be it friends, family or even some acquaintances so that they can get the support and encouragement throughout the time of their treatment.
Choosing the place of treatment.
Around 96.5% of the women all over the world get informed from their gynecologist, physician or even from their primary care that they might be having breast cancer and then they are being referred to some oncologist or cancer specialist for further treatment. So it is very important to select the team of experts by yourself from whom you are going to receive the treatment. Even some clinics like the American Cancer Society provide their patients with the checklist so that they can consider several things before settling down with a particular doctor or team of experts for their treatment.
Developing a treatment plan by focusing on the long term:
Previously the basic priority for the maximum number of doctors was to carry out the surgery for eliminating the cancer and for addressing the problem to carry out the surgery some years or months later. But at present the doctors focus on long term survival rate and in accordance to that they even connect with some plastic surgery during the time of the diagnosis period for discussing the reconstructive options. In maximum of the cases the reconstruction as well as removal of the breast cancer is being carried out together. The current medical interventions are also usually considered for maximizing the chances of getting totally recovered. Even for some cases the patients are usually provided with chemotherapy prior to the surgery. Whereas, in some patients the surgery is carried out at the beginning. Basically, it depends on the stages of cancer and how the patient can consider it.
Now it's the time of some mythbusters. Numerous people have a tendency to think and consider that breast cancer is only about breast cancer and there is nothing related to the stages. But breast cancer is actually about the different stages based on which the treatments differ from each other and if identified at the correct stage then it can be overcome through the perfect combination of treatment as well as the medicines. The members of Breast cancer.org Community States regarding the stage 4 of breast cancer which is very critical . Even though for most of the time breast cancer is not a medical emergency but when it is stage 4 or in the metastatic position, the breast cancer has a chance of spreading even to the breast region. At that time it can also spread to some other parts of the body like the brain or liver and it is totally different from the other primary stages of breast cancer.
That is why, it is always advisable to visit a doctor whenever you feel the presence of any lump in your breast as the stage 4 of metastatic breast cancer is not totally curable and only treatments and medicines help to keep it under control for several months or years. The reality is that the treatment needs to get continued for the rest of the life of the patient.
We also have some good news to relax you that within just a particular generation there has been an increase of 5% regarding the 5 year survival rate in the patients of breast cancer. After the diagnosis they live longer and even fuller lives. That is why, it is also very important to approach the health care facilities by keeping a long term plan in mind.
Till now you must have understood that breast cancer at maximum of the time is not a medical emergency but always it is a mental emergency. So if anyone you know is suffering from breast cancer it is better to support them mentally and to plan out a proper treatment schedule for them.
References :
https://www.mybreastcancertreatment.org/en-US/PersonalizeYourTreatment
https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/types/recur_metast/myths