According to the medical experts at Cornell University, the current five-year survival rate for women with breast cancer is 86 percent, while the 10-year survival rate is 76 percent. There are more than 2 million breast cancer survivors today, due in large part to early detection and prevention. It is not uncommon for these survivors to be diagnosed with recurrent breast cancer, 25 percent of which will occur within five years of treatment. However, treatment is available, increasing your odds of beating the cancer before it beats you.
Significance
According to the doctors at the Mayo Clinic, breast cancer can return months or years after your initial treatment. It may recur in the same spot as the original breast cancer, or come back in another area of the body. The treatment that is available may completely eliminate the cancer, however it depends on where it is located and how soon it is detected. This is why it is imperative to recognize the symptoms sooner rather than later.
Causes of Recurrent Cancer
A variety of reasons exist for recurrent breast cancer, the main reason being all cancer cells were not destroyed during treatment. These cells continue to multiply and divide, some being too small to detect with tests after your initial treatment is complete.
There may also be times when one, lone cancer cell exists, laying dormant for a number of years after treatment. At some point, the cell becomes active and begins multiplying and dividing, causing symptoms to appear. Finally there is the aggressive breast cancer, the type whose cells remain resistive to the treatments meant to destroy them. These cells may have the ability to metastasize (spread) to other areas of the body.
Types
Three types of recurrent cancer exist, each with its own set of symptoms. They are local, regional and distant. Local recurrent cancer will appear in the same spot as your original tumor when you were first diagnosed. It may remain in the breast of a woman who has had a lumpectomy (procedure used to remove a localized tumor), or in the chest wall of a woman who has undergone a mastectomy (breast removal). Regional recurrent cancer is defined as cancer that returns in the lymph nodes found in your collarbone or under your armpit. Distant recurrent cancer is cancer that has metastasized. This type will typically spread to your bones, lungs and liver.
Symptoms
The symptoms of each local recurrence include inflammation or reddening of the skin on your breast, a lump or firmness in one area of your breast, changes in your nipple or an indentation of your nipple and thickening of the skin in one area of your breast.
Regional recurrence reveals itself in the form of chest pain, swelling in your arm or constant pain in your arm and shoulder, difficulty swallowing, loss of feeling in your arm or hand on the affected side and a lump in the lymph nodes under your arm or in the groove of your collarbone.
Distant recurrence has the most symptoms because of the number of areas it can spread to. These include chest pain, shortness of breath, seizures, difficulty breathing, jaundice (yellowing of your skin and whites of your eyes), dry cough, visual impairment and severe headaches.
Visiting Your Doctor
Once you have had breast cancer, you will typically visit your doctor on a regular basis for check-ups, during which he will check for breast cancer recurrence. However, you know your body better than anyone, even your doctor. If something does not appear or feel right, waste no time in making an appointment to be examined. The earlier you detect cancer, the greater your odds are of beating it.
Prevention/Solution
Unfortunately, nothing can guarantee that your cancer will not return. There are steps that you can take though, to help prevent it from happening. First, the drug Herceptin helps decrease your chances of recurring cancer. It prevents the cancer cells from multiplying and dividing, thus reducing your risk of recurrence.Next, chemotherapy and radiation are both helpful in preventing the return of cancer. When used in conjunction with surgery, they are fairly effective at destroying any remaining cancer cells.
Finally, take care of yourself. Maintaining a healthy weight help reduce your risk of recurrent cancer. An easy way to help you prevent a cancer recurrence and reach a healthy weight is to consume at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. These also have important vitamins, minerals and antioxidants which do wonders in cancer prevention.
