What’s metastatic breast cancer?

You may have heard of metastatic breast cancer and not know how it differs from other forms of breast cancer. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October, here’s an overview of what you need to know.

Definition
Metastatic breast cancer also called advanced or stage four cancer, is cancer that spreads beyond the breast and starts growing in at least one other part of the body. The cancer cells found elsewhere in the body are the same as those in original cancer.

How it spreads
All cancers can spread from one part of the body to another. However, metastatic cancer describes only solid tumors like breast, prostate, and lung cancers. This term isn’t used for cancers already present at diagnosis, like leukemia and lymphoma. Breast cancer, for example, tends to spread to the bones.

However, not all cancers spread. Many factors, including how quickly cancer develops, the size of the original tumor, and how long it’s been in the body, may or may not make breast cancer metastatic. The effectiveness of treatment also has a bearing on whether breast cancer metastasizes.

Visit nationalbreastcancer.org or contact a health care professional for more information.