The breast cancer treatment is for all types of breast cancer and their stages including experimental treatments. The different types of breast cancer treatments are as follows:

1. Surgery: There are different types of breast cancer surgery.

A. Lumpectomy: In this type of surgery only the lump and a normal tissue in the surrounding area is removed which saves much of the breast. Radiation therapy might be given after lumpectomy. Lumpectomy is not possible if the tumor has grown quite large or an inflammatory breast cancer. Sometimes chemotherapy is also given and the tumor is shrunk before lumpectomy. Normally radiation therapy is always given after lumpectomy.

B. Partial or segmental mastectomy: In this breast cancer treatment only the tumor and some breast tissues around the tumor and the lining of the chest muscles are removed. Radiation therapy is given after this operation.

C. Simple Mastectomy: During this kind of surgery the entire breast tissue i.e. the lobules, ducts, fatty tissue and the skin, the nipple and the areola is removed. Radiation therapy might be required according to the results after the surgery.

D. Modified Radical Mastectomy: In this type of breast cancer treatment, the entire breast is removed. The underlying skin and the lymph nodes located under the arms are also removed. The chest muscles are left intact so that the breast reconstruction is not complicated.

2. Sentinel Lymph Node biopsy: The breast cancer first spreads to the lymph nodes located under the arms. Nowadays the surgeons focus more on the sentinel lymph nodes where the cancer cells are most likely to travel. Hence if the sentinel lymph node is first removed, there are less chances of cancer to be found in other lymph nodes. This prevents many women from further complications and need for an extensive operation.

3. Axillary Lymph Node Dissection: if the cancer is present in the sentinel lymph node, then other lymph nodes in the armpit might be removed which might lead to swelling in the armpit.

Reconstructive surgery: This kind of surgery might not be possible for all the women suffering from breast cancer. There are different types of reconstruction surgery like reconstruction with a synthetic breast implant or reconstructing using one.s own tissue. These operations could be done at the time of mastectomy or later. The different types of reconstruction surgeries are as follows:

1. Reconstruction with implants: This kind of breast cancer treatment involves the use of artificial materials like silicon gel or saline, in an implantable leak-proof shell which replaces surgically removed breast tissue. A doctor might use a tissue expander which is an empty implant shell that inflates as fluid is injected if there.s no enough muscle and skin to cover an implant. It is placed under the skin and muscle and gradually the doctor fills it with the fluid which is done over a period of several months. Once the muscle and the skin have been stretched enough the expander is removed and a permanent implant is done.

2. Reconstruction with a tissue flap: This flap is known as transverse rectus abdominal muscle (TRAM) flap. This kind of breast cancer treatment involves the reconstruction of breasts using tissues, including fat and muscle from the abdomen. Persons with low body fat might not be able to go foe this kind of surgery.

3. Deep inferior epigastric perforator reconstruction: In this kind a fat tissue is used to create a natural-looking breast.

4. Reconstruction of nipple and areola: A small nipple-like mound is created wherein tissues from somewhere else are used. The skin around the nipple is tattooed and areola is created. A skin graft may also be taken from anywhere in the body.

Radiation therapy
Under this breast cancer treatment, high energy X-rays are used to kill the cancer cells and shrinks the tumors. Radiation is usually started after three or four weeks of surgery. This treatment is painless, but a patient might become tired after the end of the treatment. Radiation therapy might also lead to the development of another tumor. Hence it.s quite important to know the risks and the benefits of the radiation therapy.

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to destroy the cancer cells. The size of the tumor, characteristics of the cancer cells and the extent of the spread of cancer decide the treatment of chemotherapy. If there are high chances of the cancer returning or spreading to the other parts of the body then chemotherapy after surgery might be recommended which is known as adjuvant chemotherapy. If the cancer has already spread to the other parts of the body, then chemotherapy is recommended to control the cancer and also reduce the symptoms. The side-effects of chemotherapy are common as they affect healthy as well as cancerous cells. Nausea, vomiting and fatigue might occur. Other side-effects may include damage to the heart, nerves, kidneys and other organs. White blood cells might also get affected sometimes. Infertility and premature menopause are other possible side effects.

Hormone therapy
Hormone therapy is also called as hormone blocking therapy. This kind of breast cancer treatment is given to women who are sensitive to hormones. This therapy also reduces the reoccurrence of cancer. This therapy shrinks and controls the already spread cancer. Two kinds of medications i.e. selective estrogen receptor modulators and aromatase inhibitors are used.

Biological therapy
Scientists have developed this new kind of therapy called as biological therapy as they learn more and more about the differences of the cancer cells and the normal cells. The three kind of biological treatments of breast cancer include:
Trastuzumab (Herceptin) - Monoclonal antibody technology is used to attack a protein, called HER-2 neu.
Bevacizumab (Avastin) - This also uses the monoclonal antibody technology to target new blood cells and stop them from growing further.
Lapatinib (Tykerb) . This therapy is used in conjunction with chemotherapy and in women who have advanced metastatic breast cancers.