Running head: BREAST CANCER TREATMENT OPTIONS: A LITERARURE REVIEW 1 Breast Cancer Treatment Options: Surgery and Radiation Therapy: A Literature Review

There are currently several treatment options available to women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. These treatments include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy. Each method of treatment has been proven to benefit most patients in some way. When treatment options are combined the chances of eliminating the cancer entirely are greatly increased. Surgery paired with either whole breast irradiation or accelerated partial breast irradiation is a proven method to increase the rates of survival in breast cancer patients. Surgery paired with whole breast irradiation is the standard of breast conserving cancer treatments. Accelerated partial breast irradiation is an acceptable alternative to whole breast irradiation because it can provide a significantly lower radiation dose to breast cancer patients. 3 BREAST CANCER TREATMENT Introduction Breast cancer is a very serious public health issue today since it occurs in one out of every eight women (Wilson, Miller, Edge, 2012, p. 42). It is a complex disease with several different types of treatment available after initial diagnosis. The treatment options currently available to patients whom have been diagnosed with breast cancer are surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy. The main purpose of these therapies is to eliminate the cancer, avoid the production of metastases, and prevent future remission. Each of these therapies can be somewhat effective when it comes to treatment, however they are more effective and the chance of remission greatly decreases when more than one therapy is used. Surgery paired with a form of radiation therapy is a very effective and proven method of treating breast cancer.