A BR EAS T CANCE R D I AGNOS I S
is often life-
changing. With advances in medicine, treatment options
for patients are also changing—and bringing hope. At
the PeaceHealth Lower Columbia Regional Cancer
Center, many breast cancer patients are having success
with these newer therapies, such as neoadjuvant therapy.
Neoadjuvant therapy is treatment given before
definitive local therapy like surgery. Neoadjuvant
treatment for breast cancer usually lasts about four
months. It combines traditional chemotherapy
with U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved
medications, providing patients the opportunity to
receive therapy that may not be approved for use
after surgery, depending on a patient’s insurance. For
example, a drug called Pertuzumab is approved for
use only before surgery, not afterward. An MRI or
ultrasound is given before treatment to help determine
each patient’s best course of care.
Good candidates for neoadjuvant breast cancer
therapy are those with tumors larger than 2 centimeters.
A woman whose tumor can be removed only by
mastectomy may instead receive neoadjuvant therapy
to shrink the tumor enough to allow breast-conserving
surgery. Other candidates include patients with:
■
Lymph nodes affected by cancer
■
Tumors not expressing hormone receptors in the
cancer cells
■
High levels of certain proteins (HER2/neu)
The response to this kind of chemotherapy is a good
way to assess prognosis as well. Neoadjuvant therapy is
also being used to treat several other kinds of cancers,
such as rectal cancer. After treatment, patients will
most likely still need surgery as an extra precaution.
As with any therapy, there are risks, but the benefits—
such as organ preservation and increased long-term
chance for survival—of neoadjuvant treatment may
outweigh the risks. Patients at the PeaceHealth Lower
Columbia Regional Cancer Center are responding well
to neoadjuvant treatment. PeaceHealth Medical Group
oncologist Prakash Thapaliya, MD, says that among
breast cancer patients treated this way, “one in three
patients—sometimes two out of three—has no cancer
left over.”
Those outcomes are better than average, and that’s
good news for breast cancer patients.
New breast cancer therapy offers hope
Prakash Thapaliya, MD
Oncology
PeaceHealth Lower Columbia
Regional Cancer Center
1615 Delaware St.
Longview, WA
360-414-7878
Breast Cancer
Fundraising
Luncheon
When:
Saturday, Oct. 11,
11:30 a.m.
Where:
Cowlitz Regional
Conference Center
Info:
Come hear keynote speaker
Becky Olson, breast cancer
survivor, author, and president
and co-founder of Breast Friends
®
.
Also includes the Runway to
Recovery, featuring breast cancer
survivors. Registration required. To
register or for more information,
call
360-414-7900
or visit
www.peacehealth.org/
stjohnfoundation
.
Presented by:
Fibre Federal
Credit Union
Fee:
$35 per ticket
Presenter Becky Olson
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