Appointments & care

At Mayo Clinic, we take the time to listen, to find answers and to provide you the best care.

Recurrent breast cancer is breast cancer that comes back after initial treatment. Although the initial treatment is aimed at eliminating all cancer cells, a few may have evaded treatment and survived. These undetected cancer cells multiply, becoming recurrent breast cancer.

Recurrent breast cancer may occur months or years after your initial treatment. The cancer may come back in the same place as the original cancer (local recurrence), or it may spread to other areas of your body (distant recurrence).

Learning you have recurrent breast cancer may be harder than dealing with the initial diagnosis. But having recurrent breast cancer is far from hopeless. Treatment may eliminate local, regional or distant recurrent breast cancer. Even if a cure isn't possible, treatment may control the disease for long periods of time.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Signs and symptoms of recurrent breast cancer vary depending on where the cancer comes back.

Local recurrence

In a local recurrence, cancer reappears in the same area as your original cancer.

If you've undergone lumpectomy, the cancer could recur in the remaining breast tissue. If you've undergone mastectomy, the cancer could recur in the tissue that lines the chest wall or in the skin.

Signs and symptoms of local recurrence within the same breast may include:

• A new lump in your breast or irregular area of firmness
• Changes to the skin of your breast
• Skin inflammation or area of redness
• Nipple discharge

Signs and symptoms of local recurrence on the chest wall after a mastectomy may include:

• One or more painless nodules on or under the skin of your chest wall
• A new area of thickening along or near the mastectomy scar

Regional recurrence

A regional breast cancer recurrence means the cancer has come back in the nearby lymph nodes.

Signs and symptoms of regional recurrence may include a lump or swelling in the lymph nodes located:

• Under your arm
• Near your collarbone
• In the groove above your collarbone
• In your neck

Distant recurrence

A distant (metastatic) recurrence means the cancer has traveled to distant parts of the body, most commonly the bones, liver and lungs.

Signs and symptoms include:

• Persistent and worsening pain, such as chest or bone pain
• Persistent cough
• Difficulty breathing
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Severe headaches
• Seizures

When to see a doctor

After your breast cancer treatment ends, your doctor will likely create a schedule of follow-up exams for you. During follow-up exams, your doctor checks for any signs of cancer recurrence.

You can also report any new signs or symptoms to your doctor. Make an appointment with your doctor if you notice any persistent signs and symptoms that worry you.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Recurrent breast cancer occurs when cells that were part of your original breast cancer break away from the original tumor and hide nearby in the breast or in another part of your body. Later, these cells begin growing again.

The chemotherapy, radiation or hormone therapy you may have received after your first breast cancer diagnosis was intended to kill any cancer cells that may have remained after surgery. But sometimes these treatments aren't able to kill all of the cancer cells.

Sometimes cancer cells may be dormant for years without causing harm. Then something happens that activates the cells, so they grow and spread to other parts of the body. It's not clear why this occurs.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Appointments & care

At Mayo Clinic, we take the time to listen, to find answers and to provide you the best care.

If your doctor suspects you may have recurrent breast cancer based on results of a mammogram or physical exam, or because of signs and symptoms, he or she may recommend additional tests to confirm the diagnosis.

Tests and procedures may include:

• Imaging tests. What imaging tests you'll undergo will depend on your situation. Imaging tests may include a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography (CT) scan, X-ray, bone scan or positron emission tomography (PET) scan.

  Not every person needs every test. Your doctor will determine which tests are most helpful in your particular situation.

• Removing a sample of tissue for lab testing (biopsy). Your doctor may recommend a biopsy procedure to collect suspicious cells for testing. Working in a laboratory, a pathologist examines the cells and determines the types of cells involved.

  A pathologist can determine if the cancer is a recurrence of cancer or a new type of cancer. Tests also show whether the cancer is sensitive to hormone treatment or targeted therapy.

Imaging tests. What imaging tests you'll undergo will depend on your situation. Imaging tests may include a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography (CT) scan, X-ray, bone scan or positron emission tomography (PET) scan.

Not every person needs every test. Your doctor will determine which tests are most helpful in your particular situation.

Removing a sample of tissue for lab testing (biopsy). Your doctor may recommend a biopsy procedure to collect suspicious cells for testing. Working in a laboratory, a pathologist examines the cells and determines the types of cells involved.

A pathologist can determine if the cancer is a recurrence of cancer or a new type of cancer. Tests also show whether the cancer is sensitive to hormone treatment or targeted therapy.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Treatments that have been linked to a reduced risk of breast cancer recurrence include:

• Hormone therapy. Women with hormone receptor positive breast cancer may reduce their risk of recurrent breast cancer by taking hormone therapy after their initial treatment. Hormone therapy may continue for at least five years.
• Chemotherapy. For women with breast cancer who have an increased risk of cancer recurrence, chemotherapy has been shown to decrease the chance that cancer will recur, and those who receive chemotherapy live longer.
• Radiation therapy. Women who've had a breast-sparing operation to treat their breast cancer and those who had a large tumor or inflammatory breast cancer have a lower chance of the cancer recurring if they're treated with radiation therapy.
• Targeted therapy. For women whose cancer makes extra HER2 protein, the drug trastuzumab (Herceptin) can decrease the chance of the cancer recurring.
• Maintaining a healthy weight. Maintaining a healthy weight may help decrease the risk of recurrent breast cancer.
• Exercising. Regular exercise may reduce your risk of breast cancer recurrence.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

No alternative medicine treatments have been found to cure breast cancer. But complementary and alternative medicine therapies may help you cope with side effects of treatment when combined with your doctor's care.

For instance, many people diagnosed with cancer experience distress. If you're distressed, you may feel sad or worried. You may find it difficult to sleep, eat or concentrate on your usual activities.

Complementary and alternative treatments that can help you cope with distress include:

• Art therapy
• Dance or movement therapy
• Exercise
• Meditation
• Music therapy
• Relaxation exercises
• Yoga

Your doctor can refer you to professionals who can help you learn about and try these alternative treatments. Tell your doctor if you're experiencing distress.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Finding out your breast cancer has returned can be equally or more upsetting than your initial diagnosis. As you sort through your emotions and make decisions about treatment, the following suggestions might help you cope:

• Learn enough about recurrent breast cancer to make decisions about your care. Ask your doctor about your recurrent breast cancer, including your treatment options and, if you like, your prognosis. As you learn more about recurrent breast cancer, you may become more confident in making treatment decisions.
• Keep friends and family close. Keeping your close relationships strong will help you deal with your recurrent breast cancer. Friends and family can provide the practical support you'll need, such as helping take care of your house if you're in the hospital. And they can serve as emotional support when you feel overwhelmed by cancer.

• Find someone to talk with. Find a good listener who is willing to listen to you talk about your hopes and fears. This may be a friend or family member. The concern and understanding of a counselor, medical social worker, clergy member or cancer support group also may be helpful.

  Ask your doctor about support groups in your area. Or check your phone book, library or a cancer organization, such as the National Cancer Institute or the American Cancer Society.

• Look for a connection to something beyond yourself. Having a strong faith or a sense of something greater than yourself helps many people cope with cancer.

Find someone to talk with. Find a good listener who is willing to listen to you talk about your hopes and fears. This may be a friend or family member. The concern and understanding of a counselor, medical social worker, clergy member or cancer support group also may be helpful.

Ask your doctor about support groups in your area. Or check your phone book, library or a cancer organization, such as the National Cancer Institute or the American Cancer Society.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

For breast cancer survivors, factors that increase the risk of a recurrence include:

• Lymph node involvement. Finding cancer in nearby lymph nodes at the time of your original diagnosis increases your risk of the cancer coming back. Women with many affected lymph nodes have a higher risk.
• Larger tumor size. Women with larger tumors have a greater risk of recurrent breast cancer.

• Positive or close tumor margins. During breast cancer surgery, the surgeon tries to remove the cancer along with a small amount of the normal tissue that surrounds it. A pathologist examines the edges of the tissue to look for cancer cells.

  If the borders are free of cancer when examined under a microscope, that's considered a negative margin. If any part of the border has cancer cells (positive margin), or the margin between the tumor and normal tissue is close, the risk of breast cancer recurrence is increased.

• Lack of radiation treatment following lumpectomy. Most women who choose lumpectomy (wide local excision) for breast cancer undergo breast radiation therapy to reduce the risk of recurrence. Women who don't undergo the radiation therapy have an increased risk of local breast cancer recurrence.
• Younger age. Younger women, particularly those under age 35 at the time of their original breast cancer diagnosis, face a higher risk of recurrent breast cancer.
• Inflammatory breast cancer. Women with inflammatory breast cancer have a higher risk of local recurrence.
• Cancer cells with certain characteristics. If your breast cancer wasn't responsive to hormone therapy or treatments directed at the HER2 gene (triple negative breast cancer), you may have an increased risk of breast cancer recurrence.

Positive or close tumor margins. During breast cancer surgery, the surgeon tries to remove the cancer along with a small amount of the normal tissue that surrounds it. A pathologist examines the edges of the tissue to look for cancer cells.

If the borders are free of cancer when examined under a microscope, that's considered a negative margin. If any part of the border has cancer cells (positive margin), or the margin between the tumor and normal tissue is close, the risk of breast cancer recurrence is increased.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com