Today breast cancer is not a verdict. Despite the facts that the disease is almost asymptomatic and many patients can find out about it at the late stages, breast cancer is possible to be cured. How do specialists treat breast cancer in Israel? What options do they apply?
What surgeries do Israeli doctors use for breast cancer treatment?
Lumpectomy
Thanks to state-of-the-art equipment, it is now possible to remove a tumor and lymph nodes while saving the breast. This procedure is called lumpectomy. The method is the safest. It is suitable for patients with stage 1-2 breast cancer. After an organ-preserving surgical procedure, a woman quickly recovers. The main advantage for the patients is an aesthetic component: surgeons carefully remove malignant formation, while saving a significant part of the breast.
Mastectomy
If a patient has breast cancer stage 3-4, doctors prescribe more radical surgery. Mastectomy is a surgical intervention when the entire mammary gland its part is removed. During a simple mastectomy, lymph nodes and pectoral muscles are saved so that a woman can do mammoplasty in the future. A radical mastectomy requires the complete removal of the breast, lymph nodes, pectoral muscles.
Israeli specialists also perform so-called Sentinel procedure. A doctor administers dying substance into a tumor. Due to this, it is possible to track the "way" of cancer cells. Next, doctors remove marked lymph node, if it is affected by cancer.
Israeli doctors consider it important not only to remove the malignant neoplasm but also restore a patient’s breast. So they perform mastectomy together with mammoplasty. There is a possibility of implant installation and breast reconstruction with own tissues.
Is radiotherapy effective against breast cancer?
Why do we need to irradiate a tumor? As a rule, radiation therapy is prescribed after a mastectomy to avoid relapses. There are two types of radiation therapy: external and internal. The modern method of radiotherapy is brachytherapy: the radioactive substance is placed directly into the tumor, while healthy tissues are not affected.
Is immunotherapy (biological therapy) helpful?
This type of therapy is one of the most promising today. It is difficult for the human immune system to recognize cancer cells. Doctors use monoclonal antibodies to help them. Antibodies find cancer cells and block their functions. In cancer of the breast with metastases, the highly effective drug Trastuzumab (Herceptin) is used. Often oncologists prescribe it in combination with chemotherapy.
Is there chemotherapy for breast cancer in Israel?
Chemotherapy is usually prescribed in combination with other treatments for the most effective outcome. The course lasts for several months. Chemotherapy drugs are used to slow the growth of a tumor, to reduce its size to facilitate the process of its removal, also to control residual cancer cells.
The hormone estrogen combines with cancer cells, stimulating their growth and division. Taking of hormonal drugs is necessary for patients to suppress the activity of the hormone. Hormonal therapy is used after surgery to prevent relapse.