The sentinel lymph node When cancer spreads, the lymph node located closest to the original tumor (the sentinel node) is usually affected first. In breast cancer cases, the sentinel lymph node is often located in the underarm area.
Metastatic breast cancer may spread to any part of the body. It most often spreads to the bones, liver, lungs, and brain.
Studies show that even though breast cancer happens more often now than it did in the past, it doesn't grow any faster than it did decades ago. On average, breast cancers double in size every 180 days, or about every 6 months.
Triple-negative breast cancers tend to grow and spread more quickly than other types of breast cancer. Because of this, triple-negative breast cancer is considered to be more aggressive than other forms of breast cancer.
Location or site of tumor within the breast has been identified as an independent risk factor for the poor prognosis. For example, the upper inner quadrant had a much lower rate of axillary lymph node metastasis than the other quadrants (21% vs.
Many breast cancers do not spread to lymph nodes until the tumor is at least 2 cm to 3 cm in diameter. Some types may spread very early, even when a tumor is less than 1 cm in size.
Potential reasons behind this statistic include larger left breast size, more frequent self-screening of left breast, and right-side breastfeeding preferences.
Breast cancer occurs more frequently in the left breast than the right. The left breast is 5%-10% more likely to develop cancer than the right breast.
You can have breast cancer without knowing it for several years, depending on how quickly it starts, grows, and spreads. Annually, almost 288,000 new breast cancer cases are diagnosed in the United States. More than half of these cancers are found before they spread beyond the breast.
Local recurrence
If you've undergone a lumpectomy, the cancer could recur in the remaining breast tissue. If you've undergone a mastectomy, the cancer could recur in the tissue that lines the chest wall or in the skin.
The sentinel lymph node
When cancer spreads, the lymph node located closest to the original tumor (the sentinel node) is usually affected first. In breast cancer cases, the sentinel lymph node is often located in the underarm area.
If your surgeon finds cancer cells in the lymph nodes they dissect, you can be assured that those cancer cells were removed in the process. Finding cancer there will also prompt your surgeon to look further and remove more lymph nodes if necessary. Removing the affected lymph nodes stops the cancer from spreading.
Stage 2 breast cancer means that the cancer is either in the breast or in the nearby lymph nodes or both. It is an early stage breast cancer. The stage of a cancer tells you how big it is and how far it has spread.
Primary breast tumors vary in shape and size. The smallest lesion that can be felt by hand is typically 1.5 to 2 centimeters (about 1/2 to 3/4 inch) in diameter. Sometimes tumors that are 5 centimeters (about 2 inches) — or even larger — can be found in the breast.
Many studies have shown that unilateral breast cancer is more frequent in the left breast than in the right.
Stage IIB: The tumor is 2 to 5 cm and the disease has spread to 1 to 3 axillary lymph nodes.
Cancer can also start in the lymph nodes. These are called lymphomas. "In general, cancers that have spread to the lymph nodes are typically stage 2 or 3," says Juan Santamaria, MD, Nebraska Medicine surgical oncologist. "Many of these cancers are still treatable and even curable at this stage.
There's a higher risk for cancer to come back following surgery when a cancer has spread to lymph nodes. In those cases, chemotherapy or radiation therapy may be recommended after surgery.
During a physical exam, your health care provider will feel under your arm to check if the lymph nodes are enlarged. If the lymph nodes feel enlarged, it's likely the breast cancer has spread there. However, the cancer may have spread to the lymph nodes even if they don't feel enlarged.
Age: Women who develop breast cancer before age 35 are more likely to get breast cancer again. Cancer stage: Cancer stage at the time of diagnosis correlates with the risk of the cancer being able to recur.
Understanding the breast cancer recurrence rate
On average, 7 percent to 11 percent of women with early breast cancer experience a local recurrence during this time. For breast cancer patients with a family history of cancer, or a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, the cancer recurrence rate is higher.