Breast cancer occurs when breast cells develop mutations (which can be either hereditary or develop over time), which cause the cells to divide abnormally quickly. If the breast cancer develops the ability to spread to other tissues, it is called "metastatic breast cancer." Metastatic breast cancer can be difficult to treat because doctors must treat both the primary tumor (in the breast), as well as the metastases.
Step 1
Submit to surgery. According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, surgery is typically the first treatment for breast cancer, even if it has already spread. Depending on the size and location of the tumor, some or all of the breast tissue may be removed (a lumpectomy or mastectomy, respectively), as well as any lymph nodes to which the cancer has spread.
Step 2
Undergo radiation treatment. Radiation works by bombarding cancer cells with high energy X-ray beams. These X-rays cause damage to the DNA in the cancerous cells, causing them to die. Radiation treatment can be used to treat both the primary tumor (in the breast) and the distant metastases.
Step 3
Receive chemotherapy. According to the Mayo Clinic, there are a number of different chemotherapeutic agents that can be used to treat metastatic breast cancer. These chemicals work to poison the rapidly dividing cancer cells throughout the body, which means that they can affect both the primary tumor and any metastases. Often a combination of these drugs is used to get the maximum effect.
Step 4
Undergo hormonal therapy. The National Cancer Institute explains that hormone-based therapies are different from chemotherapy in that they take advantage of the fact that some kinds of breast cancer retain some of the characteristics of normal breast tissue. Normal breast cells divide in response to estrogen. As a result, hormonal therapies for breast cancer either aim to prevent the production of estrogen or to block it from binding to the cancer cells.
Step 5
Receive targeted therapies. According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, targeted treatments work by specifically interfering with the processes that cancer cells use to spread and divide. One type of targeted therapy, bevacizumab, can be used to treat metastatic breast cancer by preventing the metastases from making new blood vessels, which they need to grow into new tumors.
