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Medical Video: Adjuvant Hormonal Therapy for Estrogen Receptor Positive Early Stage Breast Cancer
Estrogen-positive receptor breast cancer (ER +) is the most common type of breast cancer today. Two of the three breast cancer cases are cases of positive hormone receptors. Most experienced by people with cancer are receptive (ER +) to both estrogen and progesterone.
If you feel suspicious about breast cancer in the body, the patient must do a biopsy to test the cells in the body that are cancerous. If these cells are cancer, the doctor or pathologist must check the cell and its type again, including the receptors on the surface of cancer cells. The results of testing these cells will determine treatment options that are suitable for patients.
If the patient has ER + breast cancer, this shows that cancer cells in the body are growing in the hormone estrogen. Estrogen is a natural chemical in the body. By blocking estrogen, doctors will repair and control ER + breast cancer. ER + breast cancer has a good prognosis in all types and can respond to hormone therapy. Therefore, a reduction in the cure rate of breast cancer is related to the effectiveness of the drug in women.
Cancer Stage and Life Expectancy Levels
The prognosis in a patient depends on the stage of the cancer found in the patient's body. Each number shows a different number of characteristics in breast cancer. These differences include tumor size, differences in cancer cells, and whether the cancer moves to the lymph nodes or only around the body's tissues. The important thing to know is, the type of cancer does not affect the stage. This only affects the type of treatment.
The survival of women with breast cancer can be identified through three sub-types of breast cancer, namely ER +, HER 2+, and triple negative combined together. With the treatment of breast cancer, women can find out the stage and hope to return to normal life.
Survival rate or life expectancy is determined by how many patients are still alive years after they are diagnosed. The 5-year life expectancy is usually the most common, but sometimes it can reach 10 years.
The following data shows survival rate in breast cancer patients in America:
- Stadium 0: 100 percent
- Stage 1: 100 percent
- Stage 2: 93 percent
- Stage 3: 72 percent
- Stage 4 (level of metastasis): 22 percent
Based on the data above, this statistic also includes data on women who had HER2 + subtypes as triple negative cancer. Patients need a 5-year survival rate so that therapeutic treatment that is less than five years cannot be included in this calculation. Survival in women can be seen from the results of ER + diagnosis.
The importance of treatment
Treatment for women who have ER + is important and is recommended because it can block the work of estrogen in the body. In some cases, patients are sometimes required to remove their uterus. Therefore, most cancer sufferers prefer to use tamoxifen. For women who have experienced menopause, they will most likely choose an aromatase inhibitor treatment.
The choice of treatment varies a lot, depending on the level or stage of the cancer. In some cases, this variation can begin with the appearance of a tumor of small size and spread to the area of clear sap. If it happens like this to a patient, chances are he has to choose treatment with lumpectomy. Lumpectomy is a treatment that removes breast tissue but not the entire breast. Usually if the patient chooses lumpectomy, the doctor will also recommend radiation therapy to be used together.
In the case of early stage cancer, the patient can ask the doctor to do the DX oncotype test. This test will help identify whether the patient will experience a high relapse rate or not. This test also shows whether the chemotherapy performed by the patient is the right choice or not. Oncotype DX is recommended for women in the following conditions
- Cancer in stage one or two
- Cancer has not spread to lymph
- Has ER + data results
If the cancer is at stage 3, the patient must take further treatment. Stages for stage 3 cancer are the discovery of tumors that grow in the body with a larger size or the discovery of cells in the lymph nodes and chest wall. If the patient is in this position, the possibility of a mastectomy and chemotherapy is very necessary. Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy can also be done by patients who will undergo breast cancer surgery.
Advanced stage or stage 4 cancer indicates that the tumor has spread to other organs such as bones, liver, lungs, or brain. Stage 4 is the final stage of breast cancer. However, at the initial diagnosis it is rare to find patients suffering from breast cancer in stage 4. At this stage, certain treatments in the cancer subtype become less important. Although at this time cancer is an incurable disease, women with stage 4 ER + cancer are still able to respond hormonally and can prolong their lives for years.
Knowing the possibilities that occur in breast cancer
Positive breast cancer receptors can be treated especially at the time of breast cancer discovery. The last stage has a worse prognosis, but fortunately the patient can still be treated even though he is in stage 4.
Cancer treatment with ER can be tried and has been proven to work well in the body. Therefore, patients will also have very good life opportunities.
