What is Metastatic Breast Cancer?

Metastatic breast cancer, also known as stage 4 breast cancer, is when breast cancer cells leave the breast and sprout new tumors in other parts of the body. The most common sites of metastasis are the bones, lungs, liver, and brain.

Yes. breast cancer tumors are characterized by what they like to eat. 

• The most common type is hormone-positive breast cancer. This type feeds off of estrogen and/or progesterone. Kathleen has this kind.
• Another type is Her2-positive, and it feeds off the Her2 protein.
• Cancers can be both hormone- and Her2-positive. This is called "triple positive."
• Other cancers don't feed off hormones or Her2. This is called "triple negative."

There are many available treatments, too many to list here. Treatment is based on cancer subtype. If a tumor is hormone positive, the treatment is a hormone blocker. If a tumor is Her2-positive, the treatment is a Her2 blocker.

Unlike people with breast cancer that is still contained in the breast, there is no end of treatment for people with MBC. People with MBC need to be on active treatment continuously. No breaks. This is because MBC cells mutate easily. People stay on one treatment until the cancer mutates and becomes immune to the treatment. Then, they try another treatment  The side effects can be unrelenting. Kathleen has tackled 2,500 days of treatment with oral cell replication blockers.

The picture represents how having MBC can feel. To the outside world, people with MBC "look good." This is because MBC treatments don't cause some of the stereotypical cancer looks. Treatments often cause hair thinning, but not hair loss. Treatments often cause weight gain. 

Unfortunately, MBC is terminal.. Average survival is 2-3 years. Survival depends on many factors, like MBC subtype and sites of metastases. The survival stats have not changed much in 40 YEARS. MBC needs more research funding! Kathleen feels incredibly lucky to be nearing her 7 year mark.

Breast cancer IS curable if treated before it leaves the breast (stage 1-3). MBC rarely makes the news, but if someone died of breast cancer, they had MBC. MBC is unfair and incurable. Each day, 116 people die from MBC in the US alone. This is comparble to the number of AIDS deaths per day at the height of the AIDS crisis. 40,000 deaths per year. Where's the outrage?

No, ~10%: of people with MBC were metastatic at diagnosis. Some of them, like Kathleen, didn't have a visible breast tumor. The cancer had already spread despite being undetectable. ~30% of women with stage 1-3 breast cancer will go on to develop MBC, despite treatment. MBC is a beast.