Metastatic Breast Cancer - Getting the Facts Straight about Metastatic Breast Cancer

By Raphaelo T. Steff

Metastatic breast cancer is an advanced type of the disease. Once the breast cancer cells exceed the breast tissues, they enter the lymphatic system. After that, they have access to all parts of the body. The breast cancer cells will start attaching to healthy tissues on organs like the lungs, liver, and brain. As the cancer cells begin to grow, they start to disease the healthy tissue they have found. At this point, fighting the disease becomes more difficult. Instead of fighting the cancer in a small-localized area, the fight has to go all over the body.

How do doctors know if it really is metastatic breast cancer or not? The fact is that breast cancer localized to the breasts can have almost no symptoms. One of the most standard ones is the lump which can appear. However, when a lump gets that big, the cancer may have gone beyond the breast tissue. Doctors who do surgery will look at the tissue in the lymph nodes to see if the cancer is there. At this point, it may have gone to other points in the body. However, sometimes a breast cancer diagnosis goes the opposite way. A patient may have trouble breathing and the doctor may find cancer cells on the surface of the lungs. Tracing them back, they may find the cancer originated in the breasts.

What are the typical treatment choices when it comes to metastatic breast cancer? Every single patient's treatment plan will vary based on the particular condition. Chemotherapy and, sometimes, hormonal therapy are on the plan because the fight has gone body-wide. If there is substantial cancer growth in the breast or other parts of the body, surgery and radiation may also be part of the treatment plan. Doctors will also encourage the patient to seek support groups and potentially add other treatments to the plan to get through the worst of the treatment.

What is the prognosis of metastatic breast cancer? Survival rates depend heavily on the age and health of the patient. It also depends on the cancer spread.

While the typical survival period after diagnosis is two years, that number proceeds to advance every year. New treatments and a better understanding of the disease are making that possible. Early detection is the best indicator of survivability with breast cancer. It is important to take positive steps to making sure to detect the disease early.

About the Author:

Raphaelo is medical student; he enjoys talking about medical related topics. To learn more about metastatic breast cancer, please visit http://www.metastaticbreastcancer.us .