| A woman recently diagnosed with breast cancer
will feel shocked and frightened. All she needs to learn about
her disease is difficult to absorb when she feels such a mix
of emotions. There is, however, a large amount of recent scientific
information that is essential for the woman to seek out, in
order to make difficult and intelligent medical decisions
about her treatment.
Since this article is written mostly for women, there is
something related to the truths about breast cancer that should
be pointed out, by way of example: in normal and everyday
life, women think “advanced breast cancer” means
something very different from the medical community’s
use of the term. In medical terminology, an advanced breast
cancer is in the Stage IV category, where the tumor has spread
to a distant part of the body from the affected breast and
is the most serious type of breast cancer. To most women,
“advanced breast cancer” means all types of breast
cancer, except the kind that is totally and completely confined
(and tiny too!) in the breast. This is just one example of
the many misconceptions that women may hold about breast cancer.
So, as soon as she is able, the woman needs to put feelings
aside and learn everything she can about the stage of her
cancer (its size, location, lymph node involvement; possible
metastasis); what the detailed report about her biopsy said;
if additional tests were run on the tissue; if she should
get a second opinion; whether surgery will be necessary; will
radiation be recommended; what about chemotherapy or hormone
therapy? This is a short list of information the patient will
need to secure – and all when she is very emotionally
challenged.
The true understanding of the whole picture of the woman’s
breast cancer will influence the decisions she will make for
her best initial treatment. This is very important, as it
may influence whether the woman ever develops true advanced
breast cancer later on down the road. To reiterate, advanced
breast cancer (Stage IV) is a tumor found in a part of the
body that is distant from the breast. It is the most serious
breast cancer and is also called metastatic breast cancer.
Advanced breast cancer may be found upon the first diagnosis
of breast cancer, but that happens infrequently. It usually
occurs after the initial treatment of breast cancer is done,
maybe two or more years later. With this recurrence, the woman
again needs to gather as much information as she can about
her treatment options. Once the doctors and the woman have
agreed on a treatment program, positive action of the treatment
often brings submission of the cancer. The survival rate for
advanced breast cancer is 16% after five years. Numerous research
programs are constantly moving forward with new knowledge
and treatment advances, improving every day.
Janet Brown is a medical writer
and graduate of Loyola University New Orleans. Her personal
experiences with breast cancer have drawn her to her current
work developing breast cancer patient education and awareness
materials. She currently lives in Georgia.
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