When you’re faced with a diagnosis of breast cancer, one of the first things that comes to your mind is your treatment options. Cancer treatments have come a long way in recent years, and there are a lot of different options for breast cancer treatment. 

The treatment options for breast cancer vary based on a variety of factors, including the type of breast cancer you have and how far advanced the cancer is. When choosing an option, it’s important to speak to your healthcare provider about the benefits and risks of each available treatment option. Not every option will be right for every person. It’s also a good idea to seek a second opinion. This can help you learn more about your options and what might be best for you. Here are some of the different breast cancer treatment options along with risks you assume when starting treatment. 

Local Treatment for Breast Cancer 

Radiation works by using high-energy rays to destroy the specific cancer cells in the breast. Radiation is typically delivered from outside the body through a treatment called external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). Sometimes, it’s also delivered from inside the body with a treatment called brachytherapy. In this case, the device is often implanted after surgery for breast cancer. 

Breast cancer surgery is very common, and it can be done for various reasons. Some of the most common reasons for breast cancer surgery include removing the cancer, determining if the cancer has spread to lymph nodes, breast reconstruction, and symptom relief. Surgery of any kind can be risky, so it’s important to fully understand the risks and benefits. 

Some of the risks and side effects of local treatments, including radiation and surgery can include: 

• Bleeding
• Blood clots
• Tissue damage
• Drug reactions
• Damage to other organs
• Pain
• Infection
• Slow recovery
• Reduced breast size
• Changes in breast appearance
• Inability to breastfeed
• Numbness, pain, and weakness in the shoulder, arm, and hand
• Lymphedema
• Weakened ribs
• Angiosarcoma

Systemic Treatment for Breast Cancer

While local treatments are targeted to the specific area of the cancer, systemic treatments have more of an effect on the whole body. These include drugs that can kill cancer cells anywhere in the body, not just in the targeted area. Typical systemic treatments include chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted drug therapy, and immunotherapy. The drugs can be delivered in various ways, including by mouth, by injection into a muscle, and by direct infusion into the bloodstream. Systemic treatments can be done both before or after local treatments such as surgery. 

Chemotherapy works by giving your body anti-cancer drugs. Chemo isn’t always used for breast cancer, but it is used in some situations, like when the cancer has metastasized to other parts of the body, when some cancer cells are left behind after surgery, or when the tumor needs to be shrunk before surgery. 

Hormone therapy is typically used for types of breast cancer that are hormone receptor-positive. It works by stopping hormones like estrogen and progesterone from attaching to receptors in the cancer cells. This type of therapy can also help reduce the chances of the cancer returning after treatment. 

Another systemic treatment, targeted drug therapy, works by destroying proteins on cells that help the cancer grow, spread, and live longer. Sometimes this therapy can destroy cancer cells, and it can also slow their growth. 

Immunotherapy helps boost your immune system so that your own body is more efficient at fighting off the cancer. The drugs used in immunotherapy help your body destroy the cancer cells without destroying other cells in your body. 

Some of the risks and side effects of systemic treatments can include: 

• Hair loss
• Nail changes
• Mouth sores
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Fatigue
• Hot flashes
• Nerve damage
• Increased chance of infection
• Easy bruising or bleeding
• Vaginal dryness
• Menstrual changes
• Endometrial cancer
• Uterine sarcoma
• Blood clots
• Eye problems
• Bone thinning
• Headaches
• Muscle, joint, or bone pain
• Heart damage, including heart failure
• Hand-foot syndrome
• Liver problems
• Lung disease
• Low blood cell counts
• Sores
• Rash
• Shortness of breath
• Cough 
• Constipation

Risks of Breast Cancer Treatment 

Deciding whether or not to go ahead with any specific breast cancer treatment is a big decision. Often, treatments have a high risk, but they also have a high reward potential. It’s important to talk to your healthcare provider about your prognosis and potential treatment options. You should also consider your own threshold for risk. Some treatments actually put you at higher risk for developing other cancers or diseases. 

Sometimes, it’s not the treatment itself that puts you at risk either, rather devices used to help with treatment. For example, BioZorb is an implantable device that’s used to help healthcare providers visualize the cancer on imaging. This can help them be more effective when they are doing local treatments like radiation or surgery. However, BioZorb has recently been recalled by the FDA due to severe outcomes and adverse events. Some providers even argue that the benefits of BioZorb aren’t that great. 

These adverse events can be so severe that they require surgery and leave patients permanently disfigured. Due to this, people have filed lawsuits against Hologic Inc., citing negligence, failure to warn, and more. If you have been harmed by a BioZorb device, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit as well, and we can help connect you with a lawyer who can evaluate your case.