Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment
What happens if yourbreast cancerspreads to your brain?
What symptoms may occur, and what treatment options are available if your breast cancer spreads to your brain?
Overall, brain metastases occur in 15% to 24% of women with metastatic breast cancer.
Verywell / JR Bee
As survival improves, however, this number is expected to increase.
When breast cancer spreads to the brain it is considered stage 4 or metastatic breast cancer.
When breast cancer spreads to the brain it is still breast cancer.
Hence, treatments are those which are used for advanced breast cancer, not those used for brain cancer.
In the past, brain metastases were never considered curable.
In recent years, the concept of “oligometastases” has been addressed.
Symptoms
There are a number of different symptoms that may herald the presence of brain metastases.
We do know of some risk factors, however.
At least half of people diagnosed with brain metastases from breast cancer will have multiple metastases present.
One significant problem in treating brain metastases is that many drugs are unable to penetrate the blood-brain barrier.
Theblood-brain barrieris a tight web connection of capillaries that is designed to keep toxins out of the brain.
Studies are currently looking at methods to increase the permeability of the blood-brain barrier.
Palliative care may be helpful even with highly curable tumors.
There are many different options or “lines” of therapy which can be used.
It may also help reduce the risk of further metastases to the brain.
Hormonal therapy
Hormonal therapiesfor metastatic breast cancer may be recommended if your tumor is estrogen receptor positive.
seems like Tykerb might work better when combined with Xeloda than when used alone.
When many metastases are present, the goal is to reduce symptoms (palliative).
It is most often recommended now for people who have widespread brain metastases which are causing significant symptoms.
Unlike SBRT, surgery has immediate results which can reduce brain swelling.
The procedure can also be repeated to treat additional metastases which are present or which occur over time.
Prognosis
Brain metastases tend to be fast-growing.
A 2020 study found that it takes 86 days for brain metastases from breast cancer to double in size.
Historically, survival with brain metastases was only around 6 months but this is changing.
Ask a lot of questions.
Take a moment to learn how to researchyour cancer.Ask about any clinical trials which may be available.
It’s important to be your own advocate in your cancer care.
It’s important to take care of yourself emotionally as well.
Ask for help, and allow people to help you.
Nobody can face metastatic cancer alone.
Consider taking part in a support group or join one of the onlinemetastatic breast cancer survivor communities.
Sometimes brain metastases are extensive or accompanied by extensive metastases in other locations.
We’ve learned that conversations toaddress end of life concernswith metastatic breast cancer happen far too infrequently.
Unfortunately, people with advanced cancer and their family caregivers often have to initiate these discussions.
Choosing to stop treatment does not mean you are giving up.
Brain metastases often occur as a distant recurrence following an earlier early-stage breast cancer.
Hearing that your cancer came back and is no longer curable is heartbreaking.
Both systemic and local therapies are available to treat brain metastases.
Welcome the input from others, but remember that this isyourjourney.
check that to honor your own wishes in the decisions you make.
2016;21(1):1620. doi:10.1634/theoncologist.2015-0328
