Do You Need Chemotherapy?

For certain breast cancer patients, specialized tumor tests can be used to determine if they are likely to benefit from chemotherapy

The treatments your doctors recommend will be determined by the type of breast tumor you have. Hormonal therapies are used to treat women whose tumors are hormone sensitive — ER-positive or PR-positive. These treatments slow or stop cancer’s growth by keeping estrogen from getting to the tumor. If you have early-stage hormone sensitive breast cancer, your risk of recurrence may be the same if you have hormone therapy alone instead of having chemotherapy and hormone therapy. This video explains how these tests determine who will benefit from chemotherapy and who should have them.

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You may also want to look at these sections of our website:

Newly Diagnosed: Types of Breast Cancer

Treatment Options: Hormone Therapy

Treatment Options: Decisions and Further Tests

Dr. Susan Love: Choosing Chemo

Research Worth Watching: Using DNA to Optimize Treatment and Reduce Collateral Damage