The breast still contains the cancer and in some cases the lymph nodes also contains the cancer in stage 2 breast cancer. There are many treatments that may be of help in this situation. Although, the 5 year survival rate for stage 2 breast cancer patients is estimated to be between 76% and 88%, it may be higher. This in no way means that the stage 2 breast cancer women patients will only live for five years. By seeing how women are doing 5 years after treatment, physicians just measure success rates for cancer treatment. As far as stage 2 breast cancer treatment is concerned, your doctor is very likely to use a combination of the following treatments.

Biological Therapy:

It is a new approach toward stage 2 breast cancer treatment as it was just recently that studies led to its use in early breast cancer. HER2, which is a protein, gets increased and makes the cancer spread quickly in an estimated 25% of women with breast cancer. An approved new drug for women with metastatic breast cancer is Herceptin that is HER2-positive. It makes chemotherapy more effective by stopping this protein from making the cancer grow. It is often combined with chemotherapy.

Radiation Therapy:

Women who get a lumpectomy are frequently given radiation therapy. Cancerous cells that were missed during surgery can be killed this way. Stage 2 breast cancer patients who get a mastectomy will need radiation, particularly if the tumor was large.

Hormone Therapy:

Breast cancer patients who have hormone receptor-positive cancer sometimes require to be administered hormone therapy. The tumor can be prevented from getting the needed hormone to grow through the use of medicines (such as tamoxifen and newer aromatase inhibitors like Arimidex) in these women.

Surgery:

The standard treatment for stage 2 breast cancer treatment is surgery. Lumpectomy, which is used to remove the tumor and some of the surround tissues, is the surgery you may get if you have smaller tumors. For larger ones, mastectomy, which is performed to remove the entire breast, is the surgery you may get. Some of the lymph nodes will be likely removed by your surgeon regardless of which one of the two surgeries you opt or your doctor recommends. Breast reconstruction surgery may be administered after a mastectomy.