Chemotherapy
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The diagnosis of breast cancer brings about many fears and concerns, which all of us at Samaritan Regional Health System understand and address in a compassionate manner. We want you to remember that cancer is a word, not a sentence. There are many treatment options available, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.
Most breast cancer patients will undergo chemotherapy, which refers to the use of drugs to kill or slow the growth of rapidly multiplying cells.
Chemotherapy is performed on an outpatient basis at Samaritan Hospital, every Tuesday at the Oncology Clinic with Lapman Lun, M.D. Outpatient clinics are held on the second floor of Samaritan Hospital. For an appointment, please call Resource Scheduling at 419-207-2501 or 1-800-257-9917, ext. 2501.Or, if you would like more information about the Oncology Clinic, please call 419-207-2538.
Since a combination of drugs is more effective than a single drug administered alone, Chemotherapy usually combines a variety of drugs specifically used to treat breast cancer. The side-effects of Chemotherapy are well known, but there are medications that can be used to combat the unpleasant side-effects. You and your physician will determine what is best for you.
Chemotherapy is considered a systemic form of breast cancer treatment since it travels throughout the bloodstream to all parts of your body, reaching cancer cells that may have spread beyond the breast. These drugs are given intravenously or orally. Treatment consists of cycles followed by a recovery period. The duration of Chemotherapy treatment generally lasts several months, but could last as long as a year, depending on the type of drugs given.
Sometimes, Chemotherapy is administered before surgery to reduce the size of a tumor. In general, however, it is often used after a lumpectomy or mastectomy to reduce the chance of breast cancer recurrence. It is used as the primary treatment module when cancer has spread beyond the breast and lymph nodes, having developed into metastatic breast cancer.
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