What are the chances of breast cancer returning or appearing elsewhere in body, I have been scared by Wendy Richards story.
I had breast cancer a year ago and had treatment, operation lumpectomy and radio therapy, I am Arimadex. I also have type 1 auto immune hepititis and sjogens syndrome which causes dry mouth, nose, eyes and arthritis R and O.
Pat
Hi pajack
You have asked the million dollar question. The short answer is yes BC can appear in other parts of the body. In my limited knowledge I understand IF it spreads it is known as secondary cancer. The most common sites are the bones, liver, lungs or brain.
The danger of reading too much is that you can scare yourself silly. Crucially you have to be aware no two peoples cancers are the same, your body deals with cancer in its own way, different treatments are required according to the symptoms. There are some fantasic threads on this site, mostly stories of hope and people living years with secondary cancers.
I personally I only like to read factual intelligence gathering books. Personal testimonies have there place but that is their story not yours. There are some really knowledgeable ladies on this site who I am sure will be able to support you, and then those folks like me know enough to keep me asking the correct questions and hopefully help others by telling them the importance of self checking!
patjack, you will be on a roller coaster for sometime yet, keep dipping into this site and good luck for the brightest of futures.
Take care
Carol
Hi Patjack
I totally agree with Carol, no two peoples cancers are the same and our bodies react in different way. I have a cousin who had grade 3 invasive with lymph node spread to 5 lymph nodes 10 years ago, she had lumpectomy and massive chemo and rads but today is totally well fit and only has the 3 yearly checkups that someone who has never had BC has, she says it is now like she never had the disease. My sister in law is 3 years on from diagnosis and thankfully is very well still with no further problems. I like you am only 16 months from treatment but i tend to just get on with my life best i can and enjoy each and every day.
If the worse does happen and i pray to God it does not for me or anyone else then i have the wonderful support from the ladies on this site who saw me through my initial diagnosis and still help me out with questions even now.
Try not to worry, I always said that as much as i was afraid to die i did not want to be afraid to live!
Much love to you
Suzzanne
There are 3 types; local and regional recurrence and secondaries.
Local means that it comes back in the same breast or near it.
Regional means that the cancer has spread past the breast and the underarm lymph nodes plus it can occur in the chest muscles, in the internal mammary lymph nodes under the breastbone and between the ribs, in the supraclavicular nodes (above the collarbone), and in the nodes surrounding the neck. This shouldn’t be confused with when you might have node involvement for primary cancer though.
Secondaries mean that it has spread to distant parts, i.e. lungs, liver, bone and brain.
As Suzzanne says no two people are the same or have exactly the same type of breast cancer or respond in the same way to treatment. I was in remission for 10 years and have been living with secondaries for the past 4 years but still have a good quality of life at the moment.