- Depending on their stage of breast cancer, most breast cancer patients opt for a lumpectomy or a partial or radical mastectomy. A lumpectomy is when a portion of the cancerous breast tissue is removed. Partial mastectomy is a surgical procedure that removes part of one of the breasts. A radical mastectomy surgically removes both breasts. Radical mastectomies are usually performed when older women have advanced Stage 4 breast cancer. If lymph nodes are found to be cancerous, they are also sometimes removed by the surgeon to eliminate the cancer spreading to tissue, bones and organs.
- Radiation therapy also is used for localized breast cancer to stop tumor growth. Radiation therapy kills cancerous cells by using external-beam irradiation on the tumor or cancerous area. For older patients, this therapy is primarily used if she has been diagnosed with Stage 1 or 2 cancer and when the when lymph nodes are cancer-free. Radiation therapy also is used in combination with chemotherapy or post-surgery, depending upon the severity of the patient's cancer.
- Chemotherapy involves intravenous or oral drugs administered to patients to kill cancerous cells, usually prescribed post-surgery or along with radiation treatments. An older woman's immune system may be compromised as a result of large doses of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy drugs also kill healthy cells, lowering the immune system. Sometimes lower doses of chemotherapy are prescribed in older women.
- Hormone replacement drugs such as Tamoxifen are given to older female patients along with surgery, chemotherapy or radiation treatments. Tamoxifen increases estrogen production, which is beneficial to breast cancer patients, as reduced estrogen production has been linked to breast cancer in older women.
- The best protection against breast cancer in older women is early detection which includes yearly mammograms and self-breast exams.
