Survivors are warriors who fought long and hard and defeated what was sent out to destroy them. Surviving takes strength and dignity and is such an admirable thing to do, especially as a cancer survivor. People who have suffered from cancer are fighters and it’s important for them to always remember that, but in order to fight and defeat, it’s important to know what you’re fighting, what to be aware of and how to get it before it can get you like Metastatic Breast Cancer. Are cancer survivors more susceptible to developing it? If so, what do you look for and how do you fight it?
Everything You Need To Know About Metastatic Breast Cancer
Roughly, over 150,000 people in the United States are living with metastatic breast cancer. Stage 4, also known as metastatic breast cancer is breast cancer that has spread to other areas of the body. These areas are usually a person’s bones, lungs, liver or brain. The cancer cells break apart and travel through the body’s bloodstream. This usually happens because treatment from a previously diagnosed cancer development, didn’t destroy all the cancer cells.
Metastatic breast cancer can cause metastatic tumors. This is a type of tumor that is made up of breast cancer cells. Since stage 4 breast cancer can travel to other parts of the body, if there is a tumor found in your bones while you have stage 4 breast cancer, the tumor will most likely be breast cancer cells. That is how metastatic breast cancer spreads through the body.
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How It Can Affect Cancer Survivors
Earlier, the question “are cancer survivors more susceptible to metastatic breast cancer?” was asked and here’s the answer to that; yes. Unfortunately, people who have had breast cancer in the past are more susceptible to developing metastatic breast cancer. Why? Well according to this website, breast cancer has the possibility of coming back to a different part of your body even after your initial diagnosis and can come back anywhere between a few months or a few years after your initial diagnosis.
The website also states that on average, a little less than 33% of women who were diagnosed with early breast cancer, will develop metastatic breast cancer. In other words, the reason why cancer survivors have a higher risk of developing stage 4 breast cancer, is because the cancer cells never went away.
It also depends on your previous treatment for cancer to know if you will be at risk for stage 4 breast cancer. How the cancer cells in your body reacted to treatment, the type of treatment you received to combat the cancer and what stage you were at during your initial diagnosis will determine if you are at a higher risk of developing metastatic breast cancer.
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Also, there is the chance that people can be diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer as their initial diagnosis. In fact, over 5% of women and over 7% of men are diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer at their first diagnosis. This is called De Novo metastatic breast cancer.
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Symptoms To Be Mindful Of
When dealing with cancer of any kind, it’s good to be mindful of your symptoms. Even if you no longer have cancer, it’s important to be aware of certain signs that your body may show you. In the instance of stage 4 breast cancer, there are 4 different areas in your body that you need to be aware of. Since metastatic cancer affects either your bones, liver, lungs or brain, if you are diagnosed or feel something is wrong, you will find symptoms in one of these four areas.
Bone Metastasis- symptoms are usually, swelling, bone pain and easily broken or fractured bones
Liver Metastasis- symptoms are usually stomach pain, lack of appetite, vomiting, nausea, itchy skin and or rashes, and jaundice
Lung Metastasis- symptoms are usually pain in your chest, a bad cough that doesn’t go away and difficulty when trying to catch your breath.
Brain Metastasis- symptoms are usually pressure in your head or headaches that begin to worsen, nausea and vomiting, seizures and personality and behavior changes.
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What To Do To Prevent The Risk Of Getting It
Unfortunately, you cannot prevent metastatic breast cancer simply because, if the cancer cells are going to spread to other parts of the body then that’s what they are going to do. But remember, it has nothing to do with anything that you did.
Fortunately, people can live great, healthy and long lives while diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. Treatments such as chemo, hormonal, targeted and immunotherapies can help improve and extend your life. These treatments will target and shrink tumors or slow their growth.
Also, early detection is key to help prevent the risk of tumors growing so it’s important to have regular breast examinations and mammograms while also paying attention to any changes in your body.
