Breast cancer arises when cells within the breast ducts or lobules begin to divide abnormally quickly. Stage IV breast cancer has spread throughout the body. Although it may be difficult to completely eradicate this type of breast cancer, there are still a number of treatments available.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses medications that poison rapidly dividing cells, such as cancer cells, according to Living Beyond Breast Cancer. This treatment can be effective against stage IV breast cancer because it targets cancerous cells wherever they occur in the body. Some forms of chemotherapy are taken by mouth, whereas others are injected into a vein.
Hormone Therapy
Hormones are often used to treat certain kinds of breast cancer. Normal breast tissue cells respond to hormones, which means that many cases of breast cancer also are affected by hormone levels. Hormone therapy involves blocking the hormone signaling that causes these breast cancer cells to grow.
Palliative Therapy
Some treatment options are designed to reduce pain and increase quality of life, even though they cannot eradicate the cancer that has spread elsewhere in the body. Surgery and radiation treatments, the National Cancer Institute explains, can be used as palliative treatments for advanced breast cancer.
