Is Chemotherapy the Most Suitable Solution in Treatment of Breast Cancer - Essay Example

Breast cancer Name of the Student: Name of the Instructor: Name of the course: Code of the course: Submission date: Is chemotherapy the most suitable solution in treatment and management of breast cancer among the patients? Introduction In a generic sense, breast cancer can be perceived as a cancerous growth occupies the tissues in the breast. There is a variance in terms of treatment and management of breast cancer which has been newly diagnosed which often determined by the extent of the disease (Avril, Sassen & Roylance, 2009). It is an apparent fact that breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among the women population worldwide which evidenced by the fact that it comprised 23% of all the female cancers around the world with an estimated 1.15 million cases having being diagnosed in 2002. As a result, clinicians, patients and scientists in various parts of the globe who are involved in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer have formed groups aimed at formulating and enhancing guidelines in the treatment of breast cancer (World Health Organization, 2006). It is also imperative to note that albeit these proactive interventions, the incidences of breast cancer have been on an upward trend since the 1970s even in countries which had earlier recorded low rates, for instance in India, Japan, Korea and even among developing countries in Africa (Beiki et. al, 2012). Despite this alarming trend, debates have been apparent among scholars in different realms of medicine as well as practitioners in healthcare in regard to the treatment and management of breast cancer. One of the most debated intervention is chemotherapy (commonly referred to as chemo) which is a treatment which is aimed at killing the cancer cells among patients with various types of carcinoma. Thus, chemotherapy primarily destroys the cancerous cells and can also slow or deter the growth and spread of these cells (Ahders, 2010). Majority of the commentators have dismissed chemotherapy as not being the most effective and suitable solution in treatment and management of breast cancer among the patients based on different demerits and cited other alternative remedies which they perceive to be more effective and suitable in the treatment and management of breast cancer. However, this paper will argue that chemotherapy is suitable in treatment and management of breast cancer, mostly when it is used concurrently with other interventions, for instance, administered before and after the surgery (neoadjuvant chemotherapy and post-operative chemotherapy respectively). Thus, this paper will focus on and explore the question; Is chemotherapy the most suitable solution in treatment and management of breast cancer among the patients? Counterargument One school of thought against the use of chemotherapy has cited the potential side effects of chemotherapy which makes it an unsuitable solution in the treatment and management of breast cancer. This is whereby many of the breast cancer patients reveal being confronted by diverse side effects during treatment like musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal or constitutional symptoms. This is revealed by the National Cancer Institute (cited in Ahders, 2010) who determined that individuals who are undergoing chemotherapy often report having different symptoms like vomiting, loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhea and constipation, with fever and fatigue being other predominant side effects. In addition, many women undergoing chemotherapy usually report slight changes in their cognitive ability whereby their capacity to think and remember is usually affected by this chemo sessions. This situation has become commonly to be referred to as ‘chemo brain’ although its cause is not comprehensively understood (Shea & Monroe, 2012). Another side effect of chemo which is emotionally challenging to the patients is a medical condition referred to as alopecia which is associated with the hair of the patient falling out (Ahders, 2010). There are other long-term side effects which are associated with chemo which are usually evident even long time after these sessions have stopped, months or years after the chemo treatment has ended. These include but not limited to kidney and heart problems, damage of the lung tissues or damage of the nervous system. In addition, chemo treatment has been associated with resulting to infertility, which can affect the ability of women to conceive a child in the future. Lastly, there is always a risk that the cancer will reemerge after the treatment has ended (Ahders, 2010). Thus, opponents of chemotherapy have cited the side effects which are usually associated with this mode of treatment, both short and long-term as the main reason why chemotherapy should be discouraged and taken only as the last resort after all the other forms of intervention like surgery have failed. On the other hand, these proponents have cited the cost as another major reason behind the unsuitability of chemotherapy in treatment and management of breast cancer. This is epitomized by Ahders (2010) who determined that even if a patient has a medical cover/insurance, the costs of chemotherapy are overly expensive, mostly if it necessitates long-term treatment. According to the Johns Hopkins Medical Alerts (cited in Ahders, 2010), one out of five of all the cancer patients under the age of 65 usually delay or completely avoid chemotherapy primarily upon the costs of treatment. This is problem is evidently worsening as newer anticancer drugs continue to emerge and especially with the necessity to use more than one type of chemo drug to treat certain forms of cancer (Ahders, 2010). This impediment of cost is particularly disturbing in the developing countries which are characterized by poor economic status mostly among women as a result of the gender disparities which are evident in these countries amid increasing prevalence of breast cancer in these countries (Eniu et. al, 2006). The healthcare systems in these countries are characterized by few medical facilities offering the chemotherapy services to the breast cancer patients, few medical practitioners specialized in chemotherapy as well as unstable medical insurance policies to cover for the treatment costs of these patients. This phenomena not only results in inflated costs of treatment of breast cancer but also delays in treatment which reduces the possibility of complete recovery which has been attributed to elevated death rates among cancer patients. Thus, the high cost of the chemotherapy treatment has been widely cited by the opponents of this treatment model who advocate for alternative treatment interventions to breast cancer patients. On the other hand, chemotherapy is often associated with its opponents by massive inconvenience, mostly when the patients are burdened by enormous job or family responsibilities. This is whereby depending on the severity of the breast cancer affecting the patient, her chemotherapy schedules might necessitate her to visit the oncologist for weekly or even daily treatments with sessions lasting for several hours each visit (Ahders, 2010). These types of schedules are particularly inconveniencing to patients with tight schedules as well as those who have to travel for long distances to access the medical facilities offering the chemotherapy services. This latter phenomenon is mostly predominant among breast cancer patients who are from least developed countries which have a little as single cancer center offering chemotherapy services to the patients. The amount of time consumed while waiting for the sessions as well as time in the course of travelling is highly inconveniencing if these patients have busy work schedules in terms of family responsibilities or work schedules. In addition, the basic fact that these regular long distance travelling require monies to undertake adds up to the overhead costs associated with chemotherapy treatment. Against this background, opponents of chemotherapy perceive this model of treatment as being the least suitable among the available treatment options and consequently advocate for less time consuming treatment methods like surgery. Argument Nonetheless, despite all the above demerits which are associated with chemotherapy, there are some evident merits of chemotherapy as proposed by most of its proponents, mostly when it is neoadjuvant chemotherapy which is done prior to a surgery procedure. Firstly, this form of chemotherapy is associated with absolute survival as well as recurrence free survival rate, which are similar to post-operative chemotherapy (Ikeda et. al, 2002). In the above case, chemotherapy has been perceived to play an imperative role in minimizing the rate of breast cancer recurrence, mostly after a surgery procedure whereby it kills any possible remaining cells after the surgery procedure making recurrence of the cancer minimal after this procedure. In this case, neoadjuvant chemotherapy and post-operative chemotherapy have been argued as being the most suitable form of intervention in managing breast cancer prior and even after the surgery procedure. In addition, neoadjuvant chemotherapy which is often done to minimize the size of the cancerous tumor is also advocated for by many proponents of chemotherapy who cite that a smaller tumor usually makes the surgery procedure easier. Moreover, it makes it more effective based on the fact that the surgeon is in a better niche to take out the layer of the healthy tissues which are around the tumor, while at the same time ensuring that the whole tumor is removed. The proponents of chemotherapy also argue that chemo is fundamental in the sense that it enables the surgeon to take out only the tumor (lumpectomy) as opposed to removing the whole breast (mastectomy) where the latter process is associated with surgery procedures without any prior chemotherapy interventions (Shea & Monroe, 2012). This is one major merit which is associated with the advocates of chemo who cite that women are able to retain more of the breast which is key in maintaining their shape as well as retaining the sensation of touch. In this regard, the possibility of lumpectomy makes chemotherapy to be a fundamental process in the breast cancer treatment and management procedures. Lastly, proponents of chemotherapy have cited another advantage of chemotherapy which is makes it suitable among breast cancer patients that neoadjuvant chemotherapy is key in informing the patient and the medical practitioners whether the cancer is responsive or sensitive to a particular combination of drugs which are being tried. This is whereby if the tumor responds as a result of chemo, it translates to the fact that it is responding to drugs (Shea & Monroe, 2012). Thus, if the patient is not subjected to chemotherapy before the surgery procedure, there is no any other suitable way to ascertain whether the drugs administered after the tumor will work. This is another merit which is associated with chemotherapy which makes it suitable among the breast cancer patients in their efforts aimed at treating and managing this particular disease. Conclusion From the preceding discourse, it is apparent that the prevalence of breast cancer around the world has elevated in the recent decades which has necessitated a synergy of efforts from the scientists, medical practitioners as well as the patients to embrace a wide alley of challenges to curtail this trend. Nonetheless, there have been debates in regard to the suitability of chemotherapy in the treatment and management of breast cancer which has resulted to the emergence of two schools of thought. The opposing group alludes to the cost, inconvenience as well as the side effects of chemotherapy being the primary reasons while it is unsuitable from treatment and management of breast cancer. On the contrary, proponents of chemo cite the effectiveness of this process in minimizing the recurrence of the cancer after the surgery, increasing the chances of lumpectomy as well as knowing whether the tumor is responsive to drugs being administered. In this regard, it is recommended that chemo ought to be used concurrently with other procedures like surgery which is fundamental in increasing the effectiveness in the management and treatment of breast cancer. References Ahders, E. (2010). The Disadvantages of Chemotherapy. Retrieved November 22, 2012 from http://www.livestrong.com/article/71774-disadvantages-chemotherapy/ Avril, N, Sassen, S. & Roylance, R. (2009). Response to Therapy in Breast Cancer. The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 50(5), 55-63. Beiki, O. et. al (2012). Breast cancer incidence and case fatality among 4.7 million women in relation to social and ethnic background: A population-based cohort study. Breast Cancer Research, 14, 1-13. Eniu, A. et. al, (2006). Breast Cancer in Limited-Resource Countries: Treatment and Allocation of Resources. The Breast Journal, 12(1), S38–S53. Ikeda, T. et. al (2002).The role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer treatment. Breast Cancer, 9(1), 8-14. Shea, B.F. & Monroe, M.C. (2012). Breast Cancer: Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy. University of Florida IFAS Extension, Gainesville: University of Florida. World Health Organization (2006). Guidelines for management of breast cancer. Geneva: WHO. Read More