The sad fact is that people often have recurrent and Metastatic cancer. The minute a person contracts cancer their thoughts immediately center on such crucial questions as; are they going to die, can the cancer be beaten and will it come back? All these thoughts are perfectly normal and well justified. Cancer is a serious disease and one that cannot always be beaten. Researchers are constantly working on finding new therapies and cures so that cancer one day will be no more threatening then other diseases of the 20th century that used to be deadly but no longer are.

Recurrent and metastatic cancer is not the horror it used to be. At this present time we have new and improved therapies and women do live longer lives even with this type of cancer. There are many options for you at this stage in cancer and you need not give up hope.

Where will the cancer come back?

When the cancer comes back to the very same place it was before, it is known as recurrent cancer. When a cancer comes back, but it is not in the same place it was the first time around that is called a metastasis. It means the cancer has traveled to other areas of the body. Breast cancer can also come back in several places and then it would be called metastases. Breast cancer can come back in the breast or where the breast used to be, the wall of the chest, the lymph nodes, the lungs (including around the lungs), the bones, the liver, or the brain. Cancers that starts in other parts of the body do not usually travel to the breast. So if you had breast cancer first and it has traveled somewhere else, but did not start there, this is actually a good point because it means it is more treatable.

Breast cancer, which returns to another part of the body other than the breast, is invasive breast cancer. However if it returns to the breast it can be either invasive or non-invasive breast cancer. If the breast cancer returns but not in the same breast as it was before it is considered to be a new cancer not a recurrence.

Breast cancer can return in three different locations

If it returns to the exact same place where it originated it is considered a local breast cancer. If it returns but to the lymph nodes adjacent to the original site, it is considered to be regional and if it returns but far from the original spot, it is said to be metastatic.

Living with metastatic cancer

Women can live long lives when their cancer is under control. Metastatic cancer is like a chronic disease you live with it all your life. However, there will be times when it is in remission and you don’t seem to have any symptoms and other times when it will be very aggressive or spread, and still other times when it will be there and not very active at all. The treatments will constantly change as the nature of the cancer changes. All treatments are designed to help you feel the as well as possible for the rest of your live.

Every woman’s cancer experience is different and so there is no way of knowing how long you will live with metastatic cancer. Some women live for only a short time while others will live for over a decade. The good news is new and better treatments are coming out all the time. If you were just diagnosed with metastatic cancer you have a far better chance of survival than someone who had gone through it just a few years before you. Metastatic breast cancer responds best to hormone therapy for estrogen or progesterone and if it has not spread to any organ of the body such as the liver or the brain.

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