13/10/2026
Breast Cancer 4
Treatment
Treatment depends on a couple of factors. The size and type of breast cancer, where it is, if it has spread, and your general health. The main treatment is usually surgery although other treatments include:
• Chemotherapy which can be before surgery to help make the cancer smaller, after surgery if it has spread or both if you have a certain type of breast cancer.
• Radiotherapy is given after surgery to lower the chance of the cancer coming back.
• Hormone therapy uses medicines to either lower the amount of certain hormones in the body, block certain hormones from getting to the cancer cells and just like chemotherapy before and after surgery for the same reasons.
• Targeted medicines and immunotherapy work together to kill the cancer cells and may be used before surgery to help make it smaller, after surgery to lower the chance of it returning.
All of the above treatments can be used against secondary cancer to help control your symptoms.
How to check and survival
UK figures show that women diagnosed between 2018 and 2022 who caught their cancer early, at stage one, most (almost 100%) survived their cancer. So, don’t leave it too late, check your breasts for signs of cancer, look in a mirror for changes in shape or skin texture, feel each breast and armpit using flat fingers with varying pressure, and see a GP promptly if you notice any unusual lumps, pain, or fluid changes.
