We have lots of good news about breast cancer. Death rates are declining, and we expect less cases in 1999 than 1998. Early detection has allowed for less radical surgery, and for many women, breast cancer will never be a problem again during their lifetime.
Surgical approaches continue to improve as well.
For those women who require mastectomy, immediate reconstruction is frequently an option. Sentinel lymph node biopsy will eliminate the need for axillary dissection for some women. For women with operable breast cancer, adjuvant treatment is being given at earlier stages and treatments have improved. The taxanes, paclitaxel and docetaxel, are currently being studied in the adjuvant setting. The monoclonal antibody, herceptin, has been shown to be active in advanced disease and will be included in clinical trials for both adjuvant treatment and advanced disease in the near future.