RADIATION
It is a well known and proven fact that ionizing radiation (the kind of radiation in x-rays, mammograms, CT scans, PET scans, and radiation cancer therapy) is a known carcinogen. Radiation causes cancer. It is also proven that radiation treatment for cancer can cause secondary malignant cancers. Secondary cancers are new cancers resulting directly from cancer treatment. The secondary tumors may not show up for months or even 10-15 years later. It is reported that the risk of developing secondary tumors is small (read below about relative statistics) and that the benefits of radiation treatment outweigh the risks. The actual risks depend upon the patient demographics (age, smoking status, etc.), disease specifics, and specifics of the radiation treatment (radiation dose, type and volume of tissue irradiated). Radiation treatment kills cancerous cells, but it can also cause DNA mutation in healthy cells, causing them to become cancerous. Other side effects of radiation therapy include skin irritation/redness/burning/peeling, armpit discomfort, chest pain, fatigue, heart problems, lung problems, and lowered white blood cell counts. It is reported that most side effects are mild, and that they come on gradually.
Radiation, like surgery, is a local treatment. External radiation is probably the most common type of radiation, followed by internal radiation. Intraoperative radiation is a newer type where a single high dose of radiation is concentrated on the tumor site during lumpectomy surgery while the underlying tissue is still exposed. It takes a matter of minutes, then the incision is closed as normal. Since this is a relatively new treatment, it is not available at all treatment centers, and doctors do not agree on whether it is more effective or beneficial than whole breast irradiation after lumpectomy. Doctors are trying to develop new ways of better targeting cancer cells, thus limiting damage to healthy cells.
As I wrote in the "Surgery" post, my surgeon recommended either a lumpectomy with radiation, or a mastectomy and then radiation wouldn't be necessary. He told me that women who have a lumpectomy and choose not to have radiation have a 30% higher risk of a recurrence. After doing my own research, I learned that the 30% number is a relative statistic not an absolute statistic--and when I asked the surgeon if that was true, he agreed that it was. The absolute or actual reduction of risk could be considerably lower. It is best to get the absolute percentage for your specific diagnosis, age range, etc., and then make a decision whether the risks and side effects of radiation outweigh the benefits. Here is a link to an article which does a great job of explaining the difference between relative and absolute statistics, as well as how the medical industry uses these deceptive calculations to sway patients. http://www.breastcancerchoices.org/rr.html What I have found is that mainstream doctors and medical websites claim that radiation reduces the risk of recurrence, but there are also studies and doctors (yes, medical doctors) who disagree and say that radiation actually increases the risk of recurrence, especially for younger women.
CHEMOTHERAPY
Chemotherapy is a systemic (whole body) treatment which travels throughout the whole body targeting cancer cells at the tumor site as well as cancer cells which may have spread to other parts of the body. Chemotherapy consists of one or more toxic medicines designed to prevent cancer cells from growing or spreading by either destroying them or preventing them from dividing. The problem is that chemotherapy, like radiation, does not only affect cancer cells; the toxins affect normal cells as well. Chemotherapy drugs specifically target rapidly dividing cells which include cancer cells, but also include normal cells in your blood, hair, mouth, intestinal tract, nose, nails, and vagina. Common side effects include anemia/low red blood cell counts, diarrhea, fatigue, fertility issues, hair and nail changes, infection, memory loss ("chemo brain"), menopause and menopausal symptoms, mouth and throat sores, nausea and vomiting, neuropathy in the feet and hands, changes in smell and taste, vaginal dryness, and weight changes. Less common but more serious side effects include bone loss/osteoporosis, heart problems, and vision/eye problems. The type and intensity of side effects vary depending on the type of chemo drugs used, and they vary by person; not all patients on the same chemo meds experience the same side effects.
I was shocked to learn that recent studies have shown that chemotherapy actually causes cancer to grow and spread and become resistant to chemotherapy. This clearly explains the cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy which seems to destroy the cancer, and they are cancer free or in remission for some period of time. But then they relapse (often within a matter of months), and the cancer is stronger than ever and now resistant to the chemo, making it necessary to use different stronger chemo meds to attack it again--and the cycle repeats. I have included several links below which cover this information.
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/shock-study-chemotherapy-backfire-cancer-worse-triggering-tumor-growth-article-1.1129897
http://news.yahoo.com/chemotherapy-cancer-worse-092400059.html
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/health/120805/chemotherapy-can-backfire-and-cause-cancer-new-study-has-found
http://www.naturalnews.com/029042_cancer_cells_chemotherapy.html#
http://www.naturalnews.com/037148_chemotherapy_stem_cells_regeneration.html
http://www.mcancer.org/research/stem-cells/introduction
Using the knowledge from studies like these, they are trying to develop new chemo treatments that can more specifically and narrowly target cancer cells without so much damage to healthy cells.
HORMONAL THERAPY
Hormonal therapy is used for estrogen receptor positive breast cancers. It's a systemic treatment using medicines to either lower the amount of estrogen in the body, or to block the action of estrogen in the body in order to prevent recurrence of early stage ER+ breast cancer or to slow the growth of/shrink the tumors of late stage/metastic breast cancer. The most common recommendation is for women to take the hormonal therapy drug Tamoxifen for five years; I've also read where doctors are considering prescribing it for 10 years. In pre-menopausal women, since the ovaries are still producing estrogen, it is often recommended to also either take medication in order to temporarily shut down the ovaries or surgically remove the ovaries to permanently shut them down.
Needless to say, hormonal therapy medicines cause early menopause in pre-menopausal women and come with a host of side effects including bone/joint pain, nausea and vomiting, hot flashes, fatigue, headaches, insomnia, increased sweating, dizziness, weight gain, blood clots, stroke, endometrial cancer, increased bone/tumor pain, mood swings, depression, hair thinning, constipation, dry skin, loss of libido. Less common side effects include leg cramps, swelling, flu-like symptoms, hypercalcemia, rash, vaginal discharge/bleeding, vision problems/dry eyes, diarrhea, sore throat, low back pain, stomach/abdominal pain, injection site pain.
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