Cancer. Whenever people think of cancer, they only think of disease, growth, and tumors. What society does not see is the victim behind the disease. People are always so focused on “curing” the disease that the cancer victim is forgotten. Treating the disease has become more important than treating the patient and their innate human needs. In breast cancer patients, treatments such as chemotherapy and regional therapy cure the cancer, but there are physical and psychological side effects that are not "cured" at the same time and can have long-lasting effects. about the life of a breast cancer patient. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Chemotherapy is a common treatment for breast cancer. Several chemotherapy drugs have been used since the 1960s. Combination chemotherapy has become the standard treatment, meaning that several chemotherapy drugs are given to the patient at once. The main drugs used are cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, fluorouacil, methotrexate, mitomycin, mitozantrone, doxorubicin, docetaxel and gemcitabine. Chemotherapy can be used before or after surgery. Getting it before surgery can reduce the size of the tumor, which may mean fewer surgeries, such as only removing the tumor instead of a full mastectomy. Chemotherapy may be used after surgery for several reasons, such as high grade of cancer cells or, more commonly, if there is a possibility that the cancer will spread to other parts of the body. In this case, chemotherapy is used as a preventative measure to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence. Some chemotherapy drugs are taken orally, but most are given IV. The treatment is administered in cycles. A cycle usually consists of one to five days of taking medication, then a three to four week break, a few more days of treatment, then a break. A typical treatment contains up to eight cycles and lasts up to eight months. However, more treatments may be recommended depending on the type of breast cancer and the combination of medications used. Locoregional therapy, which is therapy limited to a localized region of the body, is most often used as a treatment for breast cancer. in the form of a mastectomy. During a mastectomy, part or all of the breast is removed because of the cancerous mass. But that hasn't always been the best option. “For nearly a century, radical Halsted mastectomy was the standard surgical treatment for breast cancer. Women receiving this treatment suffered terrible cosmetic deformities, with loss of arm function due to pectoral muscle resection, a high risk of lymphedema following extensive axillary lymph node dissection, and pain and tightness important through the chest wall. » (Ganz) New locoregional therapy has developed using radiotherapy to the localized region to take care of the mass without having to remove the problem breast. It was less invasive, but recently there has been an increase in mastectomies because changes have been made to techniques that have fewer side effects. “Recognition of the biological importance of locoregional recurrence as an indicator rather than instigator of increased risk of distant disease has been.