Medically Reviewed by Amy P. Murrell, MD

A diagnosis of breast cancer often throws a woman into an emotional whirlwind.  McLeod Breast Surgeon Dr. Amy Murrell explains what to expect and when a patient may experience each type of treatment.

Here’s a summary of Dr. Murrell’s comments:

Some patients benefit from chemotherapy before surgery. It’s important to identify these patients early, because if they have surgery when they should have had chemotherapy first, their outcome can be a little bit different. 

We also want to be careful of the order in which the treatment is given. For example, Radiation <LINK TO: https://www.mcleodhealth.org/blog/radiation-therapy-overview/>  never comes before surgery. Radiation is always after surgery and after any chemotherapy, if needed. 

There are several reasons a woman would need chemotherapy before surgery:

• One is if the tumor is HER2/neu positive – a particular type of breast cancer that responds best if treatment is given before surgery. For those women to have maximum benefit they need the chemotherapy first.
• Women with a tumor that is too large to have a lumpectomy. With chemotherapy, we are frequently able to shrink the tumor, allowing the woman to have a lumpectomy. 
• Another case would be “triple negative breast cancer.” These tumors are more aggressive. We like to give chemotherapy first, rather than surgery, to very aggressively combat the tumor.

Where to Turn for Answers
There is a lot of information on breast cancer online but the overabundance of it makes it difficult for a newly diagnosed woman to do her own research. It is very easy for a woman to become totally overwhelmed. Further, there is incorrect information out there including outdated information as well as opinions of some presented as facts.

I sit down with each patient and discuss what their surgical treatment and other treatment options are, answer all of their questions and educate them so that they feel comfortable making a decision that will be good for them for the long term. McLeod also provides every woman diagnosed with breast cancer a Breast Cancer Treatment Handbook with the latest information on treatment, surgery, what to expect, etc.

Ultimately, a woman needs to rely on her doctors to guide her through this process.

Have a cancer question?  Ask a Cancer Specialist?