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Treatment for cancer is either local therapy or systemic therapy:
- Local therapy: Surgery and radiation therapy are local treatments. They remove or destroy cancer in the breast. When breast cancer has spread to other parts of the body, local therapy may be used to control the disease in those specific areas but not elsewhere.
- Systemic therapy: Chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and biological therapy are systemic treatments. They enter the bloodstream and destroy or control cancer throughout the body. Some women with breast cancer have systemic therapy to shrink the tumor before surgery or radiation. Others have systemic therapy after surgery and/or radiation to prevent the cancer from coming back. Systemic treatments also are used for cancer that has spread.
A woman's treatment options depend on the stage of her disease and the following factors:
- The size of the tumor in relation to the size of her breast
- The results of lab tests (such as whether the breast cancer cells depend on hormones to grow)
- Whether she has gone through menopause
- Her general health
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