Cancer Treatments for Postmenopausal Women

There are a number of cancer treatment options for postmenopausal women which may be used alone or in conjunction with one another to form a combined cancer treatment therapy. The risks and benefits of each option should be discussed thoroughly with a health care professional before any treatment begins.

Significance

• After surgical removal of a cancerous tumor in a postmenopausal woman, systematic anticancer treatment, referred to as ajuvant therapy, must be started to decrease the chance of cancer recurrence and improve the chances of survival, according to Dr. Kathleen Pritchard.

Endocrine Therapy

• Endocrine therapy uses tamoxifin or aromatase inhibitors to prevent the growth of breast cancer cells. Tamoxifin prevents estrogen from stimulating the growth of cancerous cells while AIs block estrogen from being produced in postmenopausal women.

Chemotherapy

• There are more than 100 chemotherapy drugs that may be used in various combinations to treat cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Chemotherapy may be used in postmenopausal women to kill cancer cells that have metastasized or spread throughout the body far from the original tumor.

Radiation

• Postmenopausal women with cancer may benefit from ionizing radiation therapy. Radiation therapy kills cancer cells and shrinks tumors by damaging the genes of cancerous cells, leaving them unable to grow and divide.

Trastuzumab

• Trastuzumab, also known as Herceptin, can stop the growth of a cancerous tumor in the breast or reduce the size of a tumor. It may be given in combination with chemotherapy or by itself to patients who have received two courses of chemotherapy treatment, according to MedicalNewsToday.com.

Warning

• Side effects of endocrine therapy may include endometrial cancer, deep vein thrombosis (usually in the legs which may travel to the lungs), stroke, heart attack, bone loss, bone fractures, and muscle and joint pain.