A patient’s entire treatment plan, which incorporates many types of therapy, is developed by a team of specialists specialised in various fields of cancer treatment, such as surgical, radiology, and medical oncology. A doctor can customise each treatment based on your condition, diagnosis, and patient’s general health.

During breast cancer treatment in Singapore, your doctor will provide you with a thorough treatment plan. A doctor asks each patient to provide the most basic facts about their medical background to create the right strategy.

The treatment plan influences the biology and development of breast cancer. Depending on the size, certain tumours multiply, whereas others are bigger and develop more slowly. Individualised treatment plans and suggestions are generated based on a variety of characteristics.

A doctor can treat breast cancer in a variety of ways. It is dependent on the type of breast cancer and the extent to which it has progressed, and people who have breast cancer are subject to a variety of possible treatments.

Breast Cancer Treatments

It is critical to be aware of your options to discuss everything with your doctor and make the best possible decision.

Surgery

Most women diagnosed with breast cancer involve a form of surgery as part of their therapy. Depending on the case, it is possible to have several different forms of breast surgery for various reasons.

During an operation, the surgeon removes the tumour and some healthy tissue from the surrounding area. Doctors perform surgery to evaluate the axillary lymph nodes located under the arm.

Doctors perform surgery to eliminate as much cancer as they possibly can. Also, to discover if cancer has progressed to the lymph nodes beneath the arm. It reduces the signs and symptoms of inoperable cancer.

The types of surgery include:

Mastectomy

It is a surgical procedure that involves the removal of the entire breast, which includes every one of the breast tissue and, in some cases, other adjacent tissues. Mastectomies are available in a variety of configurations. A double mastectomy is where a doctor removes both breasts.

When deciding the most appropriate type of surgery for you, your doctor will consider the size of the tumour in proportion to your breast.

Lumpectomy

This procedure involves the excision of the tumour and a tiny margin of healthy tissue surrounding the tumour that is clear of malignancy. Radiation therapy to the residual breast tissue indicates following surgery for invasive cancer. The amount of breast tissue removed is determined by the location and size of the tumour and other considerations.

Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) and mastectomy are both options for many women with early-stage cancer. Among the many benefits of BCS is where a doctor can preserve a woman’s breast from removal.

Radiation Therapy

Treatment with high rays or particles that eliminate cancer cells is known as radiation therapy. Radiation oncologists are doctors who specialise in administering radiation treatment to treat cancer. This breast cancer treatment in Singapore helps to reduce the risk of cancer returning to the same breast or surrounding lymph nodes after conducting a breast-conserving surgery (BCS).

It is also done after a mastectomy if your doctor detects cancer on multiple lymph nodes or if the tumour is 5 cm in size. External beam radiation treatment (EBRT) and brachytherapy in Singapore are the two most common forms of radiation therapy for breast cancer.

Like a cervical cancer treatment in Singapore, some women may be concerned that opting for a less invasive procedure could increase their chances of having cancer recur. However, studies have found that when you combine BCS with radiotherapy, the life expectancy is the same as when a doctor performs a mastectomy.

Chemotherapy

Breast cancer treatment in Singapore with chemotherapy involves administering medications to kill cancer cells while preventing the cancer cells from multiplying or reproducing in any way. It is possible to get chemotherapy directly in injection into a vein or orally by swallowing pills. Most of the medications target cancer cells in the body’s tissues via the bloodstream.

A regimen is a group of medications given over a specified amount of time in a specific number of cycles for chemotherapy. Several alternative chemotherapy regimens have performed well in clinical trials. Thus the doctor can use different schedules based on the results. Depending on the plan, a doctor may administer once a week, twice weekly, three times weekly, or even four times weekly.

In most situations, chemotherapy is most successful when used in combination with other medications.

Hormone Therapy

Breast cancer cells can be reached by hormone therapy practically anywhere else in the body. This treatment is for women who have malignancies that express the hormone receptor. Breast cancer cells include receptors that bind to estrogen and progesterone, increasing and spreading more quickly. Hormone or endocrine therapy is a breast cancer treatment that prevents these hormones from binding to these receptors.

It uses hormones in the form of a tumour to block its expansion. Using hormonal therapy alone or in combination with chemotherapy can effectively deter a cancer return and mortality from breast cancer when taken in conjunction with the other treatments.

Targeted Drug Therapy

In the same way, as chemotherapy does, these medications enter the bloodstream and go to practically every region of the body, making them particularly effective against tumours that have progressed to distant portions of the body.

Targeted medications can occasionally be effective even when chemotherapy drugs are ineffective. Some targeted medications can improve the effectiveness of other breast cancer treatment methods in Singapore.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a treatment that uses medication used to activate a person’s existing immune system to identify and kill malignant cells with greater efficiency. It is also known as biologic therapy, intended to increase the body’s immune system to combat cancer. Your doctor can treat kinds of breast cancer with immunotherapy, which is effective in some cases.

Dr Johann Tang

If you are looking for a doctor expert in treating cancer, consider Dr Johann Tan, a radiation oncologist in Singapore who administers effective treatments to help you combat cancer.