If your cancer spreads beyond your breast and the nearby lymph nodes, it’s considered advanced, or metastatic. The most common places it spreads to are the lymph nodes, liver, lungs, bones, and brain
Even if it isn’t curable, there are treatments that can help manage your cancer
“The majority of women with metastatic breast cancer can move forward with their therapies while continuing their regular lifestyle – working, taking care of their families, exercising, and traveling,” says Erica L. Mayer, MD, MPH, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
“We often think of metastatic breast cancer as a chronic disease, like diabetes,” Mayer says.