Education For Healthy Life

The chance of breast cancer returning depends on the type of breast cancer and how it was treated.
Women with early stage breast cancer who are treated with surgery alone are at risk of having their cancer return, even 15 to 20 years later. The chance of this happening depends on:
― The size of the original tumor.
― Whether the original tumor had spread to local lymph nodes.
― The characteristics of the tissue that made up the tumor.



The risk of breast cancer returning may be lowered by hormonal therapy, chemotherapy,
and/or radiation therapy.

Breast cancer may return to the breast area or spread (metastasize) to other parts
of the body. This happens when tumor cells from the original cancer break off and
travel through the blood stream to a new location, where they grow and multiply.
If breast cancer returns, it often spreads to the bones. For example, approximately
18 to 20 percent of women diagnosed with early breast cancer will have their cancer
return within 10 years of diagnosis. Among these women, 70 percent have cancer that
has spread to their bones. Breast cancer can also spread to other organs such as the
lungs, liver, or brain.