Types | Symptoms | Reduce Your Risk | Diagnose
What is Metastatic Breast Cancer?
Metastatic Breast Cancer is the most severe type of cancer that occurs in breast tissue. It is also known as metastatic breast cancer because it has spread from the breast to various other parts of your body (usually the bones, organs, or brain).
It is very difficult to treat because the tumor is in a stage where it is difficult to target and remove. There is currently no cure for metastatic breast cancer, but treatment can include radiation, hormonal therapy, surgery, and combination treatments.
However, most women who have met with this cancer only need surgery and chemotherapy, but some women do not respond to these treatments.
The treatment of metastatic breast cancers usually involves surgery, chemo, and hormone therapy. Chemotherapy is a type of drug that helps the cancerous tumor grow weaker or stop growing.
Hormone therapy may be used to shrink the tumor (alpelisib) or to kill the cancerous cells that continue to grow. Surgery is used to remove part of the tumor or to completely remove the tumor growth. In some cases, both surgery and chemotherapy are used to treat the disease.
There are two types of treatment used to treat this type of cancer: Uterine Artery Embolization (UAE) and Uterine artery dilation and repair (UAE&ER).
Uterine artery dilation and repair is the more commonly used procedure for metastatic prostate cancer patients because it does not require a needle to puncture through the skin. The procedure involves injecting collagen into the aorta, which is a blood vessel that provides blood and oxygen to the prostate.
Collagen will fill in the space that was created by the Uterine Artery Embolization. It will also slow the spread of the disease, as well as stop new metastatic cancer cells from forming.
What are the Different Types of Metastatic Breast Cancer?
Metastatic breast cancer occurs when cancer travels from the primary tumor to the areas which are located on the surface of the skin or in the muscles and are known as metastasizing.
There are different types of metastatic breast cancer, but all types of breast cancer occur when cancer cells invade the lymph nodes. This type of breast cancer is also known as primary breast cancer.
What are the symptoms of this type of breast cancer?
These types of cancers usually present with symptoms that are similar or are directly related to metastatic breast cancer such as persistent chest pain, chronic cough with or without fever, persistent sweating and weight loss, paleness, and swelling of the arms and legs.
These symptoms may be caused by the invasion of cancerous cells into the area through the airways or the skin.
How are these different types of breast cancer diagnosed?
The diagnosis of this type of cancer usually depends on the results of a physical examination of the chest and the disease found in the tissues.
Sometimes a tissue sample is taken for testing, and sometimes a breast exam will be enough to diagnose it. The treatment options for this type of cancer can range from surgical removal of the tumor to hormonal therapy. As with any cancer, early detection is key to a full recovery from it.
Metastatic Breast Cancer Symptoms and Side effects you should be Aware of
Because the treatment options for breast cancer are largely determined by a woman’s risk factors, it’s impossible to state whether certain cancers are likely to develop in women with breast implants or if they’re likely to develop on their own.
In general, however, the more a patient’s tumor mass is located in proximity to the pectoral muscles (which form the main part of the breast), the higher the chances of her developing breast cancer.
Also, because it’s impossible to state whether any woman’s tumors will grow large enough to cause breast cancer symptoms in the future, it’s usually impossible to say whether or not any woman who’s experiencing symptoms of metastatic breast cancer has developed that particular type of cancer in the past.
The only things that can state conclusively that a woman may have been exposed to a certain amount of asbestos during her lifetime are dying from prostate cancer and death from pre-existing breast cancer, even though the two circumstances are unlikely to cause symptoms of metastatic breast cancer.
While it’s impossible to predict the presence of cancer cells in the breast, certain kinds of treatment are better at preventing the development of cancer cells than others.
Treatments designed to keep tumors from growing near the pectoral muscles and surrounding tissue are often the best at keeping women from developing symptoms of metastatic breast cancer, while treatments that fight cancer at the cellular level can often result in the development of symptoms of breast cancer in later life.
Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and hormonal therapy have all been proven to be effective in preventing the development of breast cancer symptoms in women who’ve had them, while treatments such as hormonal or tamoxifen therapy can cause the development of symptoms of metastatic breast cancer.
If a woman has the symptoms of metastatic breast cancer, she may experience any or all of the following: difficulty getting into a standing or sitting position, persistent chest pain, soreness or heaviness in the breasts, and difficulty or pain during or after physical activity.
Each of these symptoms requires different treatment, depending on the location of the tumor or cancerous cells.
Sometimes, simply making lifestyle changes can help alleviate the symptoms of breast cancer. For instance, having a sedentary lifestyle can often be enough to keep symptoms of breast cancer at bay, as can adjusting to an increased calorie intake.
It’s important to note, however, that the majority of breast cancers have no clear signs or symptoms, and may only develop after long periods of absence from physical activity or exercise.
The majority of cases of metastatic breast cancer are thought to be caused by nodules that grew large enough to travel to other areas of the body.
How Can You Reduce Your Risk for developing Metastatic Breast Cancer in the Future?
If you are a woman, you may be wondering how you can reduce your risk of developing metastatic breast cancer in the first place.
This is something that many women wonder about and it’s important to know that yes, there are things that you can do to lower your risk. For example, metastatic breast cancer is very different from invasive breast cancer.
The treatment for metastatic breast cancer involves surgery and chemotherapy. While you will still have to live with this cancer, it doesn’t need to keep you from living your life the way you want to.
One of the most important things that you can do if you want to know how can you reduce your risk for developing metastatic breast cancer in the first place is to lose weight.
Many women struggle with this because of the simple fact that they do not like to exercise and they don’t like the idea of being uncomfortable at the gym.
However, when you are overweight, it increases the level of estrogen and the production of progesterone in your body. Progesterone naturally diminishes with age but excessive weight causes it to stay high.
Therefore, estrogen will remain high and your risk of developing this type of cancer will increase. So, how can you reduce your risk of developing metastatic breast cancer in the first place by losing weight? It is quite easy to do.
You don’t even need to do much exercising. Instead, just eat smaller meals more frequently throughout the day. Eating more often means having more frequent opportunities to ingest the essential nutrients that your body needs to remain healthy.
Metastatic breast cancer patients that are consistently healthy should be encouraged to keep up these good habits and to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
How to Diagnose and Treat Metastatic Breast Cancer
If you are diagnosed with breast cancer, our goal is to learn as much as possible about it. As you begin your research into diagnosis for metastatic breast cancer, you will soon find that the best way to learn everything you need to know is to consult with a physician experienced in the treatment of this aggressive cancer type.
Although it is not typically considered a dangerous form of cancer, breast cancer can be very challenging to treat given the limited target treatment options available.
Unfortunately, many physicians are unable to provide patients with the most effective treatment options simply because of budget constraints.
Patients who suffer the consequences of this type of cancer often require aggressive treatment options to overcome their condition. One of the most common ways to diagnose breast cancer is to use mammograms.
A reliable source of early diagnosis is often a mammogram as more than 90% of all women will undergo a mammogram at some point during their lifetime.
Although many women are not familiar with the detailed images seen on the mammogram screen, it is an important tool for breast cancer detection.
Physicians performing the diagnosis for patients should make every effort to explain the images seen on the mammogram to patients, as it is vitally important to them to learn the implications of any abnormal findings.
Once the initial diagnosis for metastatic breast cancer has been made, the disease is managed with medications. These types of treatments are usually only needed if the disease has not spread to other parts of the body.
Patients are also often given a combination of medications and surgery to improve the quality of life and overall health of their patients.
How to diagnose and treat metastatic breast cancer can be intimidating for many people who have never experienced the debilitating symptoms or conditions. With a good support group and quality care by their physicians, patients can successfully beat this condition.
Knowing the facts about this disease is the key to getting the best treatment available for their individual needs.
