Metastatic breast cancer is cancer that reappears later on in life, commonly referred to as recurrence or relapse, but a patient can still seek metastatic breast cancer treatment although chances of recovery are very low. This recurrence occurs even if the cancer had been successfully contained in the breast, meaning it had been prevented from spreading to the lymph nodes. The recurrence can be local, meaning the cancer cells are confined in the breast or the surrounding tissues, or it can be beyond the breast and the surrounding tissues. These distant areas are called metastases. Breast cancer is the most common female cancer and it is a close second, after lung cancer, of all cancers. The cause of breast cancer is still unknown, but women who are in their 40 and above are at greater risk, especially if they have a family history of the disease. Metastatic breast cancer is a serious condition and if a patient gets tired of fighting for her life, it leads to death. The only way of treating metastatic breast cancer is to follow the treatment regime that is used for stage four breast cancer and to hope that it will not recur. This treatment is surgery, chemotherapy and/or endocrine therapy.

Although the metastatic breast cancer survival rate is low because the cancer attacks vital organs in the body such as the liver, treatment will prolong the life of those who are willing to fight. The treatment is meant to delay the progression of the cancer cells, to relieve the symptoms, to prolong life and to improve the quality of life.

The metastatic breast cancer prognosis is that it is not effectively treated by surgery and it is incurable because it spreads to the bones, lungs, liver, etc. However, the prognosis varies with age, the extent and the oestrogen receptor status among other things – young people can even live for years with metastatic breast cancer.

One of the places that metastatic breast cancer affects is the liver. Metastatic breast cancer liver, although a less common case, is very serious and it leads to death quickly. Symptoms of liver metastases are swelling in the upper right abdomen, ache and occasional sharp pains below the rib case in the right side, etc.

Although there is no known cause of metastatic breast cancer, the risk of getting it is related to adverse prognostic factors in the first tumor. These include oestrogen receptor negative disease and large cancerous tumors that are more than 3 cm in diameter. Node positive women are three times more likely to get metastatic breast cancer than node negative women.

When diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, the best thing that one can do is to try and have a better quality life. It is important to note that metastatic breast cancer also affects men. Although some doctors push for metastatic breast cancer treatment, patients should take the time to bid their family and the world goodbye.