Why is adjuvant therapy recommended after surgery for beast cancer?

Adjuvant treatment: Depends on type of surgery and aggressiveness of disease. Usually recommends to decrease the chances of local and systemic recurrence.

Breast cancer rx: After surgical removal (lumpectomy or mastectomy) there is a risk of additional microamounts of tumor remaining. Adjuvant chemotherapy and supplemental irradiation can statistically lower the chance of recurrence. Discuss with your oncologist your category and the best options for your recovery.

Chemo: Almost every patient with a diagnosis of breast cancer gets some form of adjuvant therapy. Whether its is true chemo or hormonal or both. This is why survival has improved for almost all the stages.

Microscopic spread: The purpose of adjuvant therapy (chemo or hormones) is to kill microscopic deposits of cancer that may have spread from the primary before surgery. It treats the possibility, not the certainty of residual cancer. Of course, the risk depends on many factors, especially stage so an oncologist will balance benefit vs toxicity in each individual patient to decide on the specific therapy.