Can Metastatic Breast Cancer Be Cured

Meeting The Challenges Of Metastatic Cancer

To understand your situation, you may want to get a second opinion. Many people find that it helps to get an opinion from another oncologist, and many doctors encourage it.

Your doctor can help you cope with cancer symptoms and treatment side effects. For example, if you have pain, your treatment might include surgery to remove a tumor in a painful area. Your doctor might also prescribe pain medication or anti-nausea medication.

Survival Rate With Metastatic Breast Cancer

• Coping

Many people wonder about the life expectancy for stage 4 breast cancer . It’s important to note that everyone is different and survival rates vary widely. There are some people who survive many years and even decades with stage 4 disease. At the same time, it’s important to understand that stage 4 breast cancer isn’t curable.

It can be helpful to look at current statistics and consider the many variables that affect life expectancy. While it’s important not to raise false hope, it may help to know the reality that there are some long-term survivors.

Some people want to know the statistics, but many don’t. If you’re living with stage 4 breast cancer, there is absolutely no requirement that you know the prognosis. The information provided here is only for those who truly wish to know what the current research iseven this research has many limitations.

Everolimus And Hormone Therapy

Everolimus is an mTOR inhibitor. mTOR inhibitors are a class of drugs that may increase the benefit of hormone therapy.

Everolimus is FDA-approved for the treatment of hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancers in postmenopausal women. The combination of everolimus and the aromatase inhibitor exemestane can slow the growth of such cancers better than exemestane alone .

Everolimus is a pill.

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Why Does Metastatic Breast Cancer Happen

Most often, metastatic cancer occurs because treatment didnt destroy all the cancer cells. Sometimes, a few cells remain dormant, or are hidden and undetectable. Then, for reasons providers dont fully understand, the cells begin to grow and spread again.

De novo metastatic breast cancer means that at the time of initial diagnosis, the breast cancer has already spread to other parts of the body. In the absence of treatment, the cancer spreads.

There is nothing you can do to keep breast cancer from metastasizing. And metastatic breast cancer doesnt happen because of something you did.

How Common Is It

About 155,000 women in the United States live with metastatic breast cancer. Men can have metastatic breast cancer too, but it’s rare.

Only 6% to 10% of women with breast cancer are diagnosed at stage IV. About 20% to 30% of women are diagnosed with an early-stage breast cancer, and then the cancer spreads.

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Will I Need More Than One Treatment For Metastatic Breast Cancer

Medications are important for metastatic breast cancer to help control its spread. Resistance to therapies may develop, which can lead your care team to recommend a change in treatment.

When you start a treatment regimen, you and your care team will see how:

• The cancer responds to the therapy.
• The side effects impact you.

If the treatment isnt working or the side effects are unbearable, your care team can discuss switching the treatment method. They may recommend a different drug, dosage or schedule.

There are many treatments available. If one therapy isnt working for you for whatever reason, there is usually another one you can try.

Tailoring Your Treatment Plan

Before a healthcare professional recommends a treatment plan, theyll collect and test a tumor sample to learn what type of breast cancer you have.

Some types of breast cancers are:

• Estrogen receptor-positive. This type of breast cancer grows more quickly in the presence of the hormone estrogen.
• Progesterone receptor-positive. This type of breast cancer grows more quickly in the presence of the hormone progesterone.
• Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 -positive. These cancers produce an overabundance of the HER2 protein, which drives the growth of the cancer cells.

Other types of breast cancers are:

• estrogen receptor-negative
• HER2-negative

These are known as triple-negative breast cancers.

If you have breast cancer thats estrogen receptor-positive, progesterone receptor-positive, or HER2-positive, your doctor may recommend hormone therapy or targeted therapy.

Fewer treatments are available for triple-negative breast cancer.

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Abemaciclib Palbociclib And Ribociclib And Hormone Therapy

The CDK4/6 inhibitors FDA-approved for metastatic breast cancer treatment are:

• Abemaciclib
• Palbociclib
• Ribociclib

CDK4 and CDK6 are enzymes important in cell division. CDK4/6 inhibitors are a class of drugs designed to interrupt the growth of cancer cells.

Although the CDK4/6 inhibitors abemaciclib, palbociclib and ribociclib have not been compared directly to one another, studies show similar results with each drug .

A CDK4/6 inhibitor in combination with hormone therapy can be used to treat hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancers. Compared to treatment with hormone therapy alone, this combination can give people more time before the cancer spreads and increase overall survival .

The CDK4/6 inhibitor abemaciclib may also be used alone to treat hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative cancers that have progressed during past hormone therapy and chemotherapy .

Abemaciclib, palbociclib and ribociclib are pills.

The table below lists some possible side effects for CDK4/6 inhibitors.

Its Never Too Late To Exercise

Exercise is important for your overall mental and physical health. Since fatigue is often a symptom associated with stage 4 breast cancer, it can help to plan your exercise during your most energetic time of day.

Consistency is key. Its better to exercise in small amounts every day than to follow an extreme pattern of occasional intense activity between long periods of inactivity.

While there are potential benefits to exercise when you have stage 4 cancer, its important to talk to your healthcare provider before starting an exercise program.

If your blood counts are low or your electrolyte levels are imbalanced, most healthcare providers wont recommend exercising because you could put yourself at risk for further harm.

Also, your healthcare provider may recommend avoiding public places, like gyms, because of your risk for germ exposure.

Safety is always a concern when you have stage 4 breast cancer. Bleeding and risks of injury are important considerations.

Some women experience balance and foot numbness problems due to their treatments and fatigue. If this is the case, its best to do exercises that put you at less risk for falls. An example could be riding a stationary bicycle instead of running on a treadmill.

There might not be a direct link between exercise and stage 4 breast cancer survival rates, but you can reap other benefits from regular exercise.

For example, it may help you:

• lose excess body fat
• improve your quality of life
• reduce side effects from treatment

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A Disease No One Gets

Sadly, people donât âgetâ mets. In fact, a recent survey sponsored by Pfizer Oncology shows just how misunderstood it is. Sixty percent of the 2,000 people surveyed knew little to nothing about MBC while 72 percent believed advanced breast cancer was curable as long as it was diagnosed early. Even more disheartening, a full 50 percent thought breast cancer progressed because patients either didnât take the right treatment or the right preventive measures.

âTheyâve built an industry built on four words â early detection equals cure â and that doesnât even begin to define breast cancer,â said Schoger, who helped found Breast Cancer Social Media, a virtual community for breast cancer patients, caregivers, surgeons, oncologists and others. âWomen are blamed for the fate of bad biology.â

The MBC Alliance, a consortium of 29 cancer organizations including the biggest names in breast cancer , addressed this lack of understanding and support as well as what many patient advocates term the underfunding of MBC research in a recently published landmark report.

For Family And Friends

Caring for a loved one with stage 4 breast cancer has special challenges as well. Fortunately, organizations such as CancerCare now offer support groups design for loved ones who are caring for someone with cancer. In addition to caring for yourself , it’s helpful to learn about metastatic breast cancer.

Common things that people learn about cancer usually refer to an early-stage disease, and myths about metastatic breast cancer can be painful for those living with advanced disease. For example, one of the things not to say to someone with metastatic breast cancer is “When will you be done with treatment?”

For the most part, people with metastatic breast cancer will require some type of treatment for the rest of their lives.

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What Can I Expect While Living With Metastatic Breast Cancer

Your care team will monitor you every few months to check if the cancer is responding to treatment, and also to see if you are having any side effects. The process of restaging the cancer includes:

• History/physical exam.
• Blood tests.
• Imaging tests, including CTs and bone scan or PET scan.

Before your scans or tests, its normal to feel anxiety. It may help to bring a friend or family member to the appointment with you.

Myth #: People With Metastatic Breast Cancer Look Sick And Lose Their Hair

You dont look sick. You look so well. Why do you still have your hair? Are you sure you have cancer? These are comments that people with MBC report hearing. But there are many treatment options besides chemotherapy, and people often appear well while taking them.

As NancyHB comments: Id much rather be a poster child for how sometimes we can live with, rather than die from, MBC at least for a while. Instead, I find myself defending against people who are increasingly becoming impatient with my lack of cancer-patient appearance. Im grateful for this time of feeling good, and theyre harshing my buzz.

Some people with MBC report that they actually look better than they feel while in treatment. So they sometimes have to let family and friends know that even though they appear fine, they dont feel well.

Shetland Pony notes: If she looks good, she is good. Nope. Many of us suffer from the invisible disability of fatigue. I would venture to say every available treatment causes us some level of fatigue. We struggle to keep up. It may look like we are doing the bare minimum when we are really giving it our all.

JoE777 of Texas adds: The new normals advertised about therapies on TV are deceiving about the side effects. They talk about side effects while women are skipping through life. not looking to show the harsh side effects but think there is something wrong with me that my life is not like that.

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Surviving Stage 4 Breast Cancer: Is It Possible

Understanding survival rates of stage 4 breast cancer

According to the National Cancer Institute , an estimated 27 percent of people in the United States live at least 5 years after being diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.

Many factors can affect your longevity and quality of life. Different subtypes of breast cancer behave differently. Some are more aggressive than others, and some have far fewer treatment options than others. For this reason, your subtype may affect your outlook.

Higher survival rates are also associated with the extent and location of metastasis. In other words, your long-term outlook may be better if your cancer has only spread to your bones than if its found in your bones and lungs.

Immediately seeking treatment, like chemotherapy, surgery, or hormone therapy, can help improve your outlook. Making healthy lifestyle choices might also improve your chances of survival.

Tucatinib Neratinib And Lapatinib

The tyrosine-kinase inhibitors FDA-approved for metastatic breast cancer treatment are:

• Tucatinib
• Neratinib
• Lapatinib

Tyrosine-kinase inhibitors are a class of drugs that target enzymes important for cell functions . These drugs can block tyrosine-kinase enzymes at many points along the cancer growth pathway.

A tyrosine-kinase inhibitor in combination with trastuzumab and chemotherapy can be used to treat HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. This combination may give women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer more time before the cancer spreads compared to treatment with trastuzumab and chemotherapy alone .

Adding the tyrosine-kinase inhibitor tucatinib to treatment with trastuzumab and chemotherapy may also increase overall survival in women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who were treated with trastuzumab in the past .

Neratinib is also used to treat HER2-positive early breast cancer.

Tucatinib, neratinib and lapatinib are pills.

Learn about neratinib and treatment of early breast cancer.

Tucatinib, neratinib and lapatinib and brain metastases

Many drug therapies cannot pass through the blood to the brain . So, they cant treat breast cancer that has spread to the brain.

However, tucatinib, neratinib and lapatinib can pass through the blood-brain barrier and may be used to treat some metastatic breast cancers that have spread to the brain.

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Exercise And Secondary Breast Cancer In The Liver

Some people with secondary breast cancer in the liver have no symptoms while others have a combination of pain, sickness, loss of appetite, hiccups, tiredness and fatigue. While physical activity may help reduce some symptoms its important to listen to your body and not push yourself too hard. Gentle, regular activity, such as walking, is often most effective.

If youre currently having treatment you may need to exercise at a slightly lower level. Stop straight away if it hurts or feels like youre working too hard.

When choosing your exercise, try to focus on aerobic activities such as walking, swimming or cycling. Activities such as dancing and gardening can also be beneficial. You could also include some light toning or conditioning exercises such as stretching or low-impact yoga. The most important thing is to choose something you can safely enjoy.

Definition Of Cure And Appropriate Endpoints

Most trials in MBC have relatively short follow-up. Long-term surveillance is exceptional, so little is known about the definitive outcome and the exact proportion of long-term survivors.

Complete response , as assessed by conventional or modern imaging, and long-term progression-free survival have usually been used as surrogates for cure in MBC. However, with the advent of new technologies, we are now able to detect minimal residual disease, which may influence the definition of cure.

Long-term survival may simply reflect the indolent nature of the disease, rather than the impact of therapy. However, cure does not necessarily mean destroying every cancer cell, but rather rendering the disease harmless for prolonged periods , which often can be achieved with less toxic therapies such as hormonal or targeted agents. Other clinical endpoints, such as tumor response, disease control, or time to progression are often used to replace overall survival in the ability to assess the long-term benefit of selected treatment strategies . Importantly, the ultimate goal in MBC management is to prolong the duration of life while maintaining a good quality of life. New endpoints must therefore be defined to assess this global definition of cure.

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Myth #: If An Earlier

Ninety percent of MBC diagnoses occur in people who have already been treated for an earlier-stage breast cancer. Many people are under the impression that remaining cancer-free for 5 years means that a metastatic recurrence cant happen. However, distant recurrences can occur several years or even decades after initial diagnosis. Factors such as original tumor size and the number of lymph nodes involved can help predict the risk of recurrence.

For example, a 2017 survey of 88 studies involving nearly 63,000 women diagnosed with early-stage, hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer found that the risk of distant recurrence within 20 years ranged from 13% to 41%, depending on tumor size and lymph node involvement.1

As KatyK of Idaho comments: that you are cured if you are cancer-free 5 years after initial diagnosis. I fell for that one myself. When I was diagnosed with MBC 12 years after initial diagnosis I was shocked. I thought I was cured, which to me means all better. Nope! Not even sure medically what cured means.

Support For Living With Secondary Breast Cancer In The Liver

Everyones experience of being diagnosed with secondary breast cancer is different, and people cope in their own way.

For many people, uncertainty can be the hardest part of living with secondary breast cancer.

You may find it helpful to talk to someone else whos had a diagnosis of secondary breast cancer.

• Chat to other people living with secondary breast cancer on our online Forum.
• Meet other women with a secondary diagnosis and get information and support at a Living with Secondary Breast Cancer meet-up.
• Live Chat is a weekly private chat room where you can talk about whatevers on your mind.

You can also call Breast Cancer Nows Helpline free on 0808 800 6000.

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Buddy Check : Living With Metastatic Breast Cancer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. Deborah Scaperoth and Chris Betts are two women at different points in their lives, but they share a terminal commonality. They both have stage four metastatic breast cancer and know without a cure, the disease will kill them.

According to komen.org, more than 160,000 people in the U.S. are living with stage four metastatic breast cancer. One in three breast cancer patients will develop the incurable disease through no fault of their own.

A diagnosis means treatment for the rest of your life.

“People want to know, ‘Oh, when do you finish treatment?’ When I die. That’s when treatment finishes,” Betts admitted.

They are considered metastatic “thrivers” because they live each day facing a battle they won’t win without a cure.

“I’m a person who doesn’t give up, so when people talk about how they won over cancer — and I’m very happy for them — but we all do what we were told to do and I’ve had like 105 radiations and 66 chemos,” Scaperoth said.

They are exhausted physically and emotionally from treatments, pain and everyday life. The hard part is, they don’t know how long the treatments will keep their cancer “sleeping.”

“You know, I know the statistics,” Betts nodded. “The statistics do not look good. Five years would be fantastic. I see people making it 15 and 20 years, but it all depends on finding a treatment that will give me some longevity.”

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DEBORAH SCAPEROTH’S STORY