Combating cancer is always a weighing of risks and rewards--attempting to balance the promised cure against the possibility of unwanted or dangerous side effects down the road. When it comes to treating breast cancer, radiation therapy is a suitable way to destroy cancerous tissue in the body, but the process can have potentially devastating effects on your heart.
Breast Cancer
Breast cancer strikes one out of every eight women. There are two main types of breast cancer--those cancers that originate in the milk ducts and those that originate in the lobules themselves. Symptoms of breast cancer include the development of a hard lump in the breast or armpit, a change in the shape or size of the nipple or discharge from the nipple itself.
Breast Cancer Treatment
Like most cancers, breast cancer is treated in one of three primary ways. First, chemotherapy can be used to eradicate the cancer cells. Second, radiation therapy can be used to destroy cancerous tissue. Finally, surgery can be used to excise the affected tissue, removing all or part of the breast. Medications to combat the regrowth of cancer are often used in conjunction with the aforementioned treatments. These include tamoxifen and exemestane.
Radiation Therapy
According to the specialty site Breastcancer.org, the use of radiation therapy can reduce the risk of cancer regrowth by as much as 70 percent. Radiation therapy consists of a focused, high-intensity beam that is fired into the cancer cells. While radiation therapy is not specifically targeted to damage just cancer cells, the radiation affects cancer cells to a disproportionate degree (around twice as much as normal cells).
Radiation and Heart Disease
According to information on Breastcancer.org, individuals who developed breast cancer on their left side (necessitating radiation therapy over the heart) have a statistically significant increased risk of developing coronary artery disease compared to women receiving radiation therapy in their right breast. Twelve years after receiving the treatment, roughly 59 percent of individuals receiving left-side radiation therapy had coronary problems, contrasted with only eight percent for the group receiving right-side radiation.
Considerations
Even knowing this, on balance, receiving radiation therapy is still your best alternative. According to Dr. Candace R. Correa, M.D., the benefits of receiving left-side radiation therapy still outweigh the risks. When it comes to choosing between succumbing to cancer now or possibly developing heart problems over a decade down the line, fighting the current threat seems to be a foregone conclusion.
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www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/234848251. N Engl J Med. 2013 Mar 14;368(11):987-98. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1209825. Risk of ischemic heart disease in women after radiotherapy for breast cancer.
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Effect of radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery on 10-year ...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Elsevier Sponsored DocumentsThis document was posted here by permission of the publisher. At the time of the deposit, it included all changes made during peer review, copy editing, and publishing.
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Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool
www.cancer.gov/bcrisktoolAn interactive tool designed by scientists at the National Cancer Institute and the NSABP to estimate a woman's risk of developing invasive breast cancer.
Breast cancer radiation adds heart risk - SFGate
www.sfgate.com/.../Breast-cancer-radiation-adds-heart-risk-4353389.phpWomen treated with radiation for breast cancer are more likely to develop heart problems later, even with the lower doses used now, troubling new research suggests ...
Breast Cancer Treatment Takes Toll on Heart - ABC News
abcnews.go.com HealthMar 14, 2013 Radiation therapy can help fight breast cancer, but the benefit comes at a cost: an increased risk of heart disease later in life, a new study found. The ...
Study: Radiation for breast cancer can harm hearts - Yahoo! News
news.yahoo.com/study-radiation-breast-cancer-harm-hearts-212506525...Mar 13, 2013 Women treated with radiation for breast cancer are more likely to develop heart problems later, even with the lower doses used today, troubling new ...
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Radiation Therapy For Breast Cancer Treatment
cancer.beaumont.edu/breast/radiation-therapyThe Radiation Oncology department at Beaumont Cancer Institute employs an impressive array of high-tech equipment to precisely deliver external or internal radiation ...
Breastcancer.org - Breast Cancer Information and Awareness
www.breastcancer.orgBreastcancer.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing the most reliable, complete, and up-to-date information about breast cancer.
Breast Cancer Risk List
www.diseaseriskindex.harvard.edu/update/...quiz=breast&page=risk_listAge and breast cancer The risk of developing breast cancer increases with age. Rates are generally low in women younger than 40, but they start to increase after age ...
Breast Cancer Topic: Refusing radiation treatments?
community.breastcancer.org/forum/68/topic/789270Breast Cancer Discussion Forums - Access the shared knowledge of thousands of people affected by breast cancer
Breast cancer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breast_cancerBreast cancer is a type of cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk.
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