How expensive is breast cancer treatment

BREAST CANCER is the abnormal growth of cells in the breast that usually starts in the lining of the breast ducts, or lobules, and can grow into cancerous tumours. Most breast cancers are found when they are invasive, which means that the cancer has spread from the breast ducts into the surrounding breast tissue.

Invasive breast cancer can be early, locally advanced or advanced (metastatic). Advanced breast cancer is when cancer cells have spread (metastasised) outside the breast and nearby lymph nodes to other parts of the body. About five per cent of cancers are advanced when breast cancer is first diagnosed.

Breast cancer diagnosis often begins with an examination and a discussion of your symptoms. Your doctor may also arrange some imaging tests, such as a diagnostic mammogram and/or an ultrasound and, if required, a biopsy. This is called a triple test. Sometimes, a specialist will arrange these and additional tests, such as a breast MRI scan.You will also be referred for further tests if a screening mammogram has shown anything unusual.

According to Dr Orlando Thomas, medical doctor and functional medicine practitioner at Thomas Medical and Shockwave Centre, in general, most treatment plans include a combination of the following: surgery, radiation, hormone therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapies. Some are local, targeting just the area around the tumour, while others are systemic, targeting your whole body with cancer-fighting agents.

“Breast cancer treatment depends on the stage of the cancer. Breast cancer can be diagnosed between stage one to four. Treatments are usually available for stage one to three, and sometimes for stage four, but not for curative reasons; stage four is not considered curable. Once breast cancer is confirmed, then the stage is determined, and then the treatment is recommended,” Dr Thomas said.