When the breast cancer that you have has spread beyond the breast, then it is said to have metastasized. If the cancer is under the arm in the lymph nodes it is said to be early or curable. Proper surgery and treatments give it a good chance of being removed from the body.

If the cancer is in another part of the body it is distant metastasis. Common places for the cancer to spread are the liver, bones, and the lungs. Once the cancer goes beyond the breast it is not curable. It is best to prevent the cancer from spreading. Distant metastasis can be found at the time of the initial exam or months or years later. This can happen because the cancer cells have escaped from the breasts before the surgery and could take a little longer to form a tumor in other parts of the body. When the cancer comes back long after it was found it is called breast cancer recurrence.

If the cancer has gone beyond the breast and arm lymph nodes it is now a systemic disease which means it is now necessary to treat the entire body not just one area. This is because the cancer has travelled throughout the blood stream and breast cancer cells will be found in other parts of the body. Because of this only treatments that can reach the entire body are used to treat the Breast Cancer Metastasis instead of any that would just treat one area at a time.

It is not possible to remove all the cancer through out the body and it is not possible to measure the cells that will grow into a tumor. Breast cancer responds too many different treatments and most patients can live for a few months to up to several years with metastatic breast cancer. The best treatment for each patient should be one that is discussed and formed between the patient and her doctor. There can be hormone treatments or for women with tumors the option may be chemotherapy. There are many types of chemo that is available and the goal is to have a treatment that will stop the cancer from growing so that the patient can live as normal a life as possible. Sometimes the kind of chemo given is less toxic then the chemo given after the breast cancer surgery.

Generally, women with Breast Cancer Metastasis will be treated with several forms of therapy over the life of the disease. Some cancer cells have been known to grow resistant to treatments and that’s when a change is needed. Unlike other types of cancer, breast cancer cells are able to be controlled by many types of chemo and women are living longer. Hope is available through research that women will not die of the disease in the future.

There are many different questions that you can ask the doctor who is in control of your treatment plan about Breast Cancer Metastasis if you may have it. One very good question to ask the doctor who is treating you is whether the cancer that you have has spread out and beyond the breast area and the lymph nodes in the arm area. Where has the cancer that you have spread in your body? Another good question to ask your doctor or the professional who is in charge of your treatment plan is if you have the kind of cancer that would respond well to some of the hormone treatments that are currently available to you. Another good question is whether you have the kind of breast cancer that would respond well to trastuzumab?

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