Oncology, a medicine's branch, deals with cancer studies and treatments. A doctor who specializes in the study and treatment of cancer is called a medical oncologist. Nevertheless, a breast cancer's medical oncologist first talks to a pathologist about the precise biological character of the treated tumor.
An oncologist deals with the diagnosis, therapy such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery, constant follow-up with the patient, and the screening of the relatives of the patient. Having diagnosed with breast cancer, a patient is informed with the 3 specialty areas in the treatment of the disease, which are as follows: medical oncology, surgical oncology and radiation oncology.
There are different methods in the diagnosis.
The medical oncologist for breast cancer may do a biopsy on the patient (may be incisional or excisional), x-rays or several blood tests. If a patient is diagnosed to have one, the treatment for the tumor that the medical oncologist would apply varies depending on the stage of the disease.
Chemotherapy may be done before or after surgery. Chemotherapy involves several kinds of drugs and these drugs are given to patients with primary breast cancer; breast cancer believed to have not yet spread outside the breast or to the lymph nodes. Chemotherapy can also be used to treat tumor that has already metastasized or have already spread to other organs in the body.
Another specialty therapy of a medical oncologist is hormone therapy. This hormone therapy interferes with the hormones in the body that stimulates the growth of the ailment. Hormone therapy can be done to patients with primary breast cancer or also to patients with tumor that has already spread to other organs in the body.
The treatment that the medical oncologist for breast cancer applies to patients, like chemotherapy, has certain side effects like loss of hair. These doctors are expert in their field and so they also are dealing with the treatment of the side effects and problems encountered by the patient with breast cancer.