The stage of breast cancer when cancer cells do not remain in the original cancer site and spread out to other parts of the body is called metastatic breast cancer. This is the stage when the cancer is fully advanced. Even if you have been successfully treated for breast cancer, there is a chance that some cancer cells do not die, and later spread out through blood and lymphatic vessels to other body organs. This process is known as metastasis of breast cancer.

Metastasis can occur due to three reasons. The first reason has already been stated, that is, when some cancer cells escape from treatments and make cancer recur. The second is when, during a treatment, the cancer goes on advancing, and starts developing tumors in other organs, and sometimes, when cancer is diagnosed so late due to carelessness of the patient or inefficiency of medical professionals, that it has already metastasized to other parts of the body.

Unfortunate as it may be, breast cancer has the maximum chances of metastasizing. When this happens, bones, and organs like the lungs and brain starts showing abnormal changes, which means they’re starting to develop cancer cell growth. If you get lung cancer or liver cancer or any other cancer after getting breast cancer, it is probably just breast cancer metastasis and not a new cancer. This is good news, since breast cancer has low mortality rates and can be treated. However, if the new cancer if in the breast which did not have cancer previously, it may be a new cancer.

It is very important to know about metastatic breast cancer because around 30% of women with breast cancer are later diagnosed with metastatic cancer. Metastatic breast cancer is best treatable when no organ, specifically the lungs and brain, develop cancer, or when the cancer cells show traces of estrogen or progesterone hormone receptors, or, when tumors still respond to therapies, or when there have not been many treatments the patient has already availed.

Since a total cure of metastatic disease is very difficult, the treatment involved is very long and cumbersome. A combination of Systemic therapy and regular monitoring is needed. This involves chemotherapy, hormonal treatment and radiation therapy, and for monitoring, regular mammograms, breast ultrasounds, CT scans, MRIs, PET scans, bone scans are done. Treatment also varies with purpose, chemo and radiation therapies concentrating on the whole body cure, surgeries like lumpectomy and mastectomy on specific body parts, and oral aspirin intake along with other drugs focusing on lessening physical pain of the victim.

Because metastatic breast cancer means cancer spreading to various parts of the body, complete sure is very difficult. There will come a point when you will have to stop undergoing treatment, even when your cancer is not fully cured. You have the choice of being treated indefinitely, but you have to know, the more number of therapies you take, the more the side-effects are. Also know that many women have lived fruitful lives while taking the treatment for the metastatic disease. It is hard to take decisions when your life is at stake, but it is also necessary that you do it. There is research going on for prolonging lives of people who have this disease, and that research will surely help you.

How exactly breast cancer develops is still very uncertain, but there are classic signs that point to its development. Some signs, also known as risk factors, can be found in almost everyone, and having some or all of them does not ensure the possibility of developing the disease. Just by judging by these signs, one can never really know if the cancer can develop, and they should never be the only yardstick in formulating your chances of getting breast cancer. Just like there are way too many factors in determining your risk of getting a car accident if you sit in a car, so many factors play a role in causing breast cancer that an exact cause is very tricky to blame.

One sure factor is age. The older you get, the higher your chances are of developing a malignant lump. This fact is pivotal to prevention of breast cancer. Heredity also plays a major role, and researches suggest that your risk of getting breast cancer goes up if a family member has had breast cancer. Therefore genetics plays a role, even though the exact nature of the role is yet to be determined. Your race might or might not have to do with the risks, there’s no conclusive study to suggest exactly how. Also, scientists say, women who conceive in later years have a higher risk, though that can be safely attributed to an older age. Men get breast cancer too, though in lesser numbers.

There is still a lot of research going on when it comes to whether or not birth control plays a big part in developing this cancer. There is always debate on this subject, but more research needs to go into it before they can solidly say for sure whether it does or not.

Alcohol is said to increase the risks considerably, but as it goes, alcohol can increase the risks for any type of cancer. Cutting down the number of alcoholic beverages you consume is a good idea, and if your risk factor is high, total abstinence from alcohol helps.

That is the same for people who become obese, or who have weight problems all of their lives. It increases health problems in many different areas, breast cancer being one of them. And again, you can help fight that by doing a little bit of exercise a few times of week. Prevention is the key to beating this.

As stated above, there are so many different causes for getting breast cancer; it is hard to pinpoint the exact one that will cause it in every case. As more research goes on however, we may be able to find that one key, and if we are able to do that, then we can help even more people prevent themselves from developing it, and beating it quicker.

Breast cancer has several stages starting from early to advanced stage. You can detect early stage after a few weeks of development. At the advanced stage cancer spread to other organs. Depending on the stage the treatment varies. Reoccurrence of breast cancer happens in case of malignant tumors.

Breast cancer is an ancient disease. Descriptions of it existed as early as 3000 B.C., and Spanish and Italian surgeons wrote accounts of mastectomies in the 1500s. However effective treatment of breast cancer is a modern day achievement. The first real advance occurred when a Baltimore surgeon named William Hallstead explained his ideas on how the disease progressed and proposed a new surgical treatment for it.

Surgery: Lumpectomy or the removal of the lump is a technique in surgery. Doctor may need to remove lymph nodes from your armpit or breast depending on the stage.

A woman’s chances of surviving breast cancer depend on early diagnosis and treatment Today a range of treatment procedures, each with specific benefits and risks, exists for breast cancer. The choice treatment in an individual case frequently may depend on several factors, such as the different stages and kinds of breast cancer, tumor location, the patient’s medical history, menopause status and age. The chemotherapy and hormone treatments commonly given after surgery to women with breast cancer are much more effective in prolonging life than previously believed.

Obviously the goal of treatment is to completely remove the cancer and prevent it from coming back. This may involve more than one type of treatment. The mainstay of breast cancer treatment is surgery, with possible chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.

There is no easy solution, but there are millions of breast cancer survivors who have returned to happy normal lives. Take the time to educate yourself and make an informed decision to join those survivors.