The risk that a breast cancer will recur or spread is correlated with the size of the tumor and extent of spread at the time of diagnosis. For roughly 20 percent of women, breast cancer is diagnosed at the very earliest stage. Stage 0 breast cancer or carcinoma in situ is considered pre-invasive breast cancer. read more
As the cancer moves into the breast duct wall and finally begins to effect the surrounding breast tissue, specialists call it infiltrative or invasive breast cancer. If treatment does not occur, breast cancer will usually spread to other areas of the body (metastasize). read more
"Metastatic breast cancer is a whole-body disease," Mayer says. You will also need hormone therapy if your cancer is sensitive to (meaning fueled by) the hormone estrogen or progesterone. Some people can take targeted treatments, which are drugs that work directly on the changes within cancer cells. read more