Is it chemotherapy really helpful and how to avoid its side effects?

Women suffering from breast cancer can be spared from the side effects of chemotherapy because they are constantly testing new drugs. There is a constant debate among physicians around the world on if the chemotherapy really helps patients, taking into account that after thirty days of treatment there is still a high percentage of deceased patients. It is difficult to say whether the patients die due to the treatment itself or because of illness. However, studies show that patients who were not treated with strong chemotherapy have a better chance of survival.

Women who will not require chemotherapy are those with breast cancer at an early stage, or some non-aggressive form of cancer.
Some doctors believe that chemotherapy destroys cancer cells, but it also destroys healthy cells. This is the main reason why many patients die after these therapies. Those who have a positive experience with chemotherapy, however, are not deprived of side effects. Most women faced with hair loss, headaches, chest pain, bleeding and nausea.

Due to a number of side effects, it is necessary to examine precisely which women could benefit from chemotherapy, and which is better to be treated with medication.

The doctor Laura Van’t Veer, head of diagnostic oncology Cancer Institute in the Netherlands, invented the famous test by which we can identify where the woman is better suited to certain types of therapy. The doctor explains that the test can detect the gene cancerous cells, and so oncologists can characterize the cancer and treat his patients.

What is especially wanted to achieve with this testing is to avoid the implementation of chemotherapy in women who do not need it.

How to recognize the signs of breast cancer, check if you have these symptoms:

– rash on the skin of the breast or around the nipple
– nipple has changed its position
–  you notice change in the shape and size of the breast
– you feel thickening at your fingertips
– you notice indentation on the breast
– nipples secrete fluid when they are stimulated or squeezed.
– painful breast or underarm area
– swollen armpits.

It is important to consider that most of the changes does not have to be scary and it’s probably benign. However, we should not delay a visit to the doctor as soon as you notice any change.