Medical Oncology Specialist Prof. Dr. İdris Yücel and Radiation Oncology Specialist Dr. Özge Özdemir, who stated that treatment is possible in 'breast cancer', which is one of the most common types of cancer in women, explained the issues that patients should pay attention to and the points to be followed.
Breast cancer draws attention as one of the most common types of cancer in women both in Turkey and in the world. Providing information about the issues and treatment methods to be followed in the process from the first stage to the last stage regarding breast cancer, which is also seen in men, Medicana Health Group doctors Prof. Dr. İdris Yücel and Uzm. Dr. Özge Özdemir made important statements.
“Breast cancer is a type of disease with a long but curable treatment process”
Underlining that they can treat different stages of breast cancer not only with one treatment method but with many treatment methods, Medicana International Samsun Hospital Medical Oncology Specialist Prof. Dr. İdris Yücel said, “The treatment process of breast cancer is a bit complicated. It is a long process. Patients need to patiently follow this process and follow the recommendations and follow-ups of their doctors. After the treatment process is determined by biopsy, the stage of the disease is determined. Is the tumor in the breast, has it gone to the armpit, has it gone to organs such as liver and bone? These are checked. If it does not go to other organs, if it is only in the breast and it is a small tumor, we can send it directly to surgery. Often the tumor grows and spreads to other places. If this happens, we start with treatment first. If the stage shrinks in chemotherapy, we refer the patient to surgery. After surgery, we apply preventive treatments, which is a long process, according to the characteristics in the pathology report. If there are hormone-sensitive cells, then we give the patient endocrine therapy. This can spread over a period of 5-10 years. We can perform immunotherapy in some special types of breast cancer. There are some smart drug therapies according to the general characteristics of the tumor and the patient. It is quite complicated, has a lot of benefits and you cannot treat every patient in a certain mold. We plan the treatment of each patient specifically for that patient. Breast cancer treatment is carried out in departments such as surgery, oncology, radiation oncology, hormonotherapy and immunotherapy. Breast cancer is a type of disease that has a long treatment process but can be cured.”
“Radiotherapy is a reliable treatment method”
Dr. Özge Özdemir, Radiation Oncology Specialist, emphasized the importance of radiotherapy in breast cancer and said, “Breast cancer accounts for 1 in 3 of all female cancers. Therefore, awareness is important. As radiation oncologists, we are with patients at every stage of treatment. Both surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are at work as a team. We apply radiotherapy of breast cancer in cases where breast-conserving surgery has been performed in the early stage, in order to provide case control in the breast and lymph area, that is, to prevent recurrences and to ensure the patient's survival. Again, in locally advanced disease, we perform radiotherapy to prevent recurrences after surgery after systemic chemotherapy or to shrink the tumor in cases where surgery is not suitable after chemotherapy. We also perform palliative radiotherapy to relieve pain in brain metastases, bone metastases, and to relieve pain, bleeding and odor of the mass in soft tissue metastases. Radiotherapy in breast cancer is an indispensable approach at every stage. Thanks to scientific and technological developments in the field of radiotherapy, we are able to apply the dose we target in a volume appropriate way with the least side effect profile. In this respect, radiotherapy is a reliable treatment method. Breast cancer awareness should be in our lives, but breast cancer should not be in our lives.”
Experts also pointed out that breast cancer is a very important public health problem and that it is imperative for every woman to have enough knowledge to be able to perform breast self-examination and to go to regular medical check-ups.
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