Combating cancer is always a weighing of risks and rewards--attempting to balance the promised cure against the possibility of unwanted or dangerous side effects down the road. When it comes to treating breast cancer, radiation therapy is a suitable way to destroy cancerous tissue in the body, but the process can have potentially devastating effects on your heart.
Breast Cancer
Breast cancer strikes one out of every eight women. There are two main types of breast cancer--those cancers that originate in the milk ducts and those that originate in the lobules themselves. Symptoms of breast cancer include the development of a hard lump in the breast or armpit, a change in the shape or size of the nipple or discharge from the nipple itself.
Breast Cancer Treatment
Like most cancers, breast cancer is treated in one of three primary ways. First, chemotherapy can be used to eradicate the cancer cells. Second, radiation therapy can be used to destroy cancerous tissue. Finally, surgery can be used to excise the affected tissue, removing all or part of the breast. Medications to combat the regrowth of cancer are often used in conjunction with the aforementioned treatments. These include tamoxifen and exemestane.
Radiation Therapy
According to the specialty site Breastcancer.org, the use of radiation therapy can reduce the risk of cancer regrowth by as much as 70 percent. Radiation therapy consists of a focused, high-intensity beam that is fired into the cancer cells. While radiation therapy is not specifically targeted to damage just cancer cells, the radiation affects cancer cells to a disproportionate degree (around twice as much as normal cells).
Radiation and Heart Disease
According to information on Breastcancer.org, individuals who developed breast cancer on their left side (necessitating radiation therapy over the heart) have a statistically significant increased risk of developing coronary artery disease compared to women receiving radiation therapy in their right breast. Twelve years after receiving the treatment, roughly 59 percent of individuals receiving left-side radiation therapy had coronary problems, contrasted with only eight percent for the group receiving right-side radiation.
Considerations
Even knowing this, on balance, receiving radiation therapy is still your best alternative. According to Dr. Candace R. Correa, M.D., the benefits of receiving left-side radiation therapy still outweigh the risks. When it comes to choosing between succumbing to cancer now or possibly developing heart problems over a decade down the line, fighting the current threat seems to be a foregone conclusion.
Tags: radiation therapy, cancer cells, Breast Cancer, breast cancer, cancerous tissue
