Chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer is generally prescribed to kill the cancer cells which have spread to other organs. This method of treatment also helps in killing those cancerous cells which have been left behind after surgery. It involves the intake of drugs, intravenously or in pill form. These drugs travel through the blood stream and react with the cancer cells to kill them. Chemotherapy can be prescribed as the main method for the treatment of breast cancer or can be combined with radiation therapy or can be given after surgery.

If the breast cancer is limited to the lymph nodes then chemotherapy cycles are prescribed to the patient after surgery, to prevent the recurrence of breast cancer cells inside the patient’s body. Chemotherapy is also given as the main treatment to patients with breast cancer or if the cancer recurs after any other treatment method followed to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may also be prescribed to a patient to reduce the size of the cancer cells before the surgery.

Procedure of Chemotherapy Treatment for Breast Cancer

Chemotherapy is usually given in cycles or in fixed schedules. The most common method of giving chemotherapy to a patient is called as the one-day treatment cycle. In this method, chemotherapy is given once in every three weeks. The other cycles may vary from once in two weeks or may be once in four weeks, depending on the reports of the patient and the stage of cancer the patient is suffering from. This week’s gap is known as the recovery period, where the patient will get to recover himself from the side effects of the treatment procedure. In this recovery period, the healthy cells that get damaged in the cycle of chemotherapy, rebuilt themselves, and the affected cancer cells, being more vulnerable to these drugs, are unable to cure themselves, hence get killed. In total, four or eight cycles of chemotherapy are prescribed to the patient. The number of cycles depends on the lymph node status report of the patient. Hence, the total duration of the treatment can vary from three months to six months.

Drugs Prescribed During Chemotherapy Treatment for Breast Cancer

The most commonly prescribed to the patients during their chemotherapy cycles are Doxorubicin (Adriamycin), Methotrexate (Amethopterin), Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan), Epirubicin (Ellence), Paclitaxel (Taxol), Gemcitabine (Gemzar), Docetaxel (Taxotere), Fluorouracil (5-FU, Adrucil), Capecitabine (Xeloda), Vinorelbine (Navelbine) and Carboplatin (Paraplatin).

In addition to these, there are some that are not commonly prescribed, but are given in some cases. These drugs are Mitomycin (Mitomycin C Kyoma), Mitoxantrone (Novatrone, Onkotrone), Vinblastine (Velban), Cisplatin and Liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil, Caelyx, Myocet)

All the above drugs are often given in combination. The common combinations of these drugs are AC {Combination of Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide}, AC -> T {Adriamycin cyclophosphamide followed by Paclitaxel, mostly given in three weeks cycle}, Dose Dense AC -> T {Adriamycin cyclophosphamide followed by Paclitaxel, mostly given every two weeks}, <a href=”http://www.ecancerchemotherapy.com/act-chemotherapy-2.html”>ATC chemotherapy</a> {Doxorubicin, Cyclophosphamide and Taxol}, CAF {Cyclophosphamide, Adriamycin, and fluorouracil}, CMF {Combination of Cyclophosphamide, Methotrexate and Flurouracil}, FEC chemotherapy {Fluorouracil Epirubicin, and Cyclophosphamide} and Carboplatin and Paclitaxel {with or without herceptin}. Out of all these combinations, AC and CMF are the commonly prescribed chemotherapy combinations for the treatment of breast cancer. AC followed by paclitaxel cycles is prescribed to the patient whose node is found to be positive. For the patient suffering for metastatic breast cancer, a combination of docetaxel, paclitaxel, venorelbine and gemcitabine chemotherapy drugs can be prescribed.

Side Effects of Chemotherapy Treatment for Breast Cancer

The side effects of breast cancer chemotherapy depend on the duration of the treatment and type and number of cycles or dose of the drugs given to you, by your doctor. Patients might experience vomiting, fatigue, nausea, low blood counts, decrease in white blood cells, risk of infection, bleeding, bruising, mouth sores, diarrhea or loss of appetite. Hair loss is also experienced in some cases. In case of menstruating woman, there are chances that they may experience irregular menstrual cycles during the sessions of the treatment. Sometimes there can be a temporary or permanent stopping of menstrual cycles, experienced by menstruating women during the treatment cycles.

Chemotherapy treatment for cancer is an effective way of killing the cancer cells. This method of treatment for breast cancer also helps to control the recurrence of cancer cells in the patient’s body, after surgery.

Note: Please do not follow any form of drug treatment given above without prior consultation with your concerned physician.