For many years, this was the operation most used, but it is used now only when the tumor has spread to the chest muscles. Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be taken by mouth or it may be put into the body by inserting a needle into a vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the drugs enter the bloodstream, travel through the body, and can kill cancer cells outside the breast area. If tests show that the breast cancer cells have estrogen receptors and progesterone receptors, hormone therapy may be given.
Hormone therapy is used to change the way hormones in the body help cancers grow.
This may be done by using drugs that change the way hormones work or by surgery to take out organs that make hormones, such as the ovaries. Hormone therapy with tamoxifen is often given to patients with early stages of breast cancer. Hormone therapy with tamoxifen or estrogens can act on cells all over the body and may increase the chance of getting cancer of the uterus. A doctor should be seen for a pelvic examination every year. Any vaginal bleeding, other than menstrual bleeding, should be reported to a doctor as soon as possible.