If someone has breast cancer(large tumor) do you think its better to get chemo first or just do the surgery?

Answer 1

talk to your doctor, you need to know what stage it is. if it is stage 1, you may be able to get by on surgery alone. good luck, and bless you.

Answer 2

Sometimes chemo first, can be very beneficial as it can help shrink the tumor so that less of the breast needs to be removed. In my situation I opted to have a lumpectomy first because I wanted to have a few surgical procedures as possible.

When chemo is administred first, a small metal bb is surgically inserted into the breast, next to the tumor so that if the tumor completely disappears, they have a good base point for future diagnostic procedures to monitor the site. Usually a small portion of tissue is removed post chemo anyway, just to make sure there are no residual cancer cells. Also by having chemo first, the doctors get a good idea if the chemo is actually working to shrink the tumor.

Answer 3

Hello Magdalena: Ok after reading your questions several times. Honey you need to calm down. Not all lumps are cancer and if it is growing that means it is large cells its the small cells that are dangerous. The small cells grow quickly and spread so fast and are usually the cancer cells. I have been fighting cancer since 1993 the first time I had a lumpectomy that is where they remove the cancer and the lymphnode that it is attached to. A masectomy can be eith breast but they take the whole breast as well as the lymphnodes that are there. A bilateral masectomy is where they remove both breast as well as all lymphnodes. And with cancer you end up with chemo as well as radition as a rule. But you can have a lymphnode that swells up and is sore to the touch. And can be pre cancerous. those are lumps that need to be removed before it becomes cancer and they do not require any medication other than for the pain of surgery right after surgery for usualy 10 days. My husband had a lump in his lymphnode so they removed the mass. it was the size of my fist. (Base Ball) But if it were not removed it would have became cancer. They did a needle biopsy which is where they stick a large needle in and remove a few cells his came back not cancer too. But if the mass hurts or bothers her she should have it removed even if it is not cancer. But the good news is if she had a needle biopsy and it showed no cancer that is a good thing. To me that is a reason to go out and celebrate its not cancer yea!!!!!!!!!! And when the doctor removes the mass they will still send it to a lab for more test to make sure it is not cancer so it is like double checking just to make sure your mom will be well. I had a bilateral masectomy May 2004 Mine had spread to the point were they had to remove a lot. But as I said if it comes back cancer after they remove the mass they will let your mom know as well as what she needs to do next. But till then take a deep breath and relax. My best of luck to your mom as well as you.

Answer 4

It really depends on the what characteristics the tumor has... whether it's hormone receptive, if there are any positive lymph nodes and so on. Certain types of tumors respond better to chemo some to radiation and then some require both. Sometimes removing the tumor and a small amount of healthy tissue called a margin may be all that is required if further testing comes back negative for residual cancer.

Answer 5

First things first. Have the lump removed and biopsied. The size,
type (estrogen receptor positive or negative) and invasiveness determine the course of action. I had breast cancer and chose to have a lumpectomy and wait for the pathology report before proceding. My surgeon and my chemo-oncologist both said that was a wise course of action.

Answer 6

If tumor is of large size then chemo first reduces its size and makes surgery easy ,you should follow advise of your surgeon.

Answer 7

Surgery can sometimes remove most or all of the cancer. The size is less important than the stage. It is better to take out as much as possible and stop the spread of the disease if possible.

Answer 8

i talked with my friends doctor (dr edwards, who runs the Healthy Oakland Clinic in California) and he recommended to me a natural adjunctive therapy which brought shocking results to his patients in the destruction of cancer cells. It is new to the u.s. but apparently had been used for centuries in other parts of the world where it is grown for multiple health conditions. Being a natural food there are no drug or chemo side effects. I strongly recommend giving them a call.

Answer 9

I would follow my doctors advice.