As you may have read elsewhere on SurvivorNet, not all doctors agree about whether stage zero breast cancer should be treated. The current standard of care is treatment with either lumpectomy or mastectomy, radiation and hormonal therapy. Dr. Chirag Shah, Director of Breast Radiation Oncology at the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, says recent studies show that the risk of dying from stage zero breast cancer is very low, prompting some doctors to opt for less aggressive treatment and even in some cases, active surveillance. Still, Dr. Shah says, active surveillance, which is currently being widely studied, is something he would not recommend outside of a clinical trial.
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