Living With Metastatic Cancer

Metastatic breast cancer patients are on a treatment as long as it works says parker anderson a medical family therapist at duke cancer institute.

Living with metastatic cancer.

Living under that pressure can be. Metastatic or stage 4 breast cancer means the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. And it s not clear why some cancers travel to the bones rather than to other common sites for metastasis such as the liver. Bone metastasis occurs when cancer cells break away from the original tumor and spread to the bones where they begin to multiply.

Family members who you thought you could count on may not be able to deal with the seriousness of the. What advice she d give other patients the big thing i d tell someone is to listen to your gut about your doctor if you don t feel a member of your healthcare team is the right fit get a new one she says. Doctors aren t sure what causes some cancers to spread. Here you will find tailored information and resources to help you face your diagnosis understand the treatment.

The american cancer society acs can help you connect with others in your area who have bone metastases or with. Living with long term cancer when doctors can treat metastatic cancer your situation may be like someone with a chronic or long term disease. This rate is based on de novo cases or cases in which stage 4 was the initial diagnosis. If you are living with metastatic breast cancer it s possible that at some point you will feel alone or isolated.

Living with metastatic disease when diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer managing your disease becomes your new reality. Find out about prognosis and life expectancy at this stage. Living 10 or more years isn t unheard of and the 10 year survival rate for primary or de novo metastatic breast cancer is around 13 percent. Examples of chronic diseases are type 1 diabetes congestive heart failure and multiple sclerosis.

I am living with metastatic breast canceras a person living with stage iv or metastatic breast cancer you may have unique concerns about planning for treatment coping with your diagnosis and managing your finances.