Life expectancy for stage 4 breast cancer (metastaticbreast cancer) varies widely.
Relative survival rates describe the percentage of people who live to or beyond a specific period of time.
Most cancer specialists use a five-year survival rate as the standard measure.
Verywell / Jo Zixuan Zhou
Many may go on to live for many years more.
This program covers nearly 50% of the U.S. population.
According to the American Cancer Society, therelative five-year survival rate for stage 4male breast canceris 20%.
As such, the survival rate youre told today may be very different in the next couple of years.
Research has begun to look at the benefits of treating oligometastases.
Future advances may lead to similar improvements in life expectancy.
While HER2 helps tumors grow quickly, they are more responsive to targeted therapies for metastatic breast cancer.
PS scores typically range from 0 to 100, with 100 being optimal function and 0 being dead.
As a result, your PS can have a direct impact on your relative survival.
People tend to not understand these factors as well.
They include:
Treatment goals for metastatic breast cancer are often different than that of early-stage disease.
Studies have found that more aggressive treatment does not improve survival rates but does reduce quality of life.
Who Are Long-Term Survivors?
Many people with stage 4 breast cancer prefer a social community dedicated to metastatic breast cancer.
You may have drastically different concerns, such as how long you will live.
For example, some studies show that informed decision-making may improve among people attuned to their breast cancer symptoms.
It can be helpful to research your cancer yourself.
Some opportunities dont require traveling for opinions.
Fortunately,palliative careteam consults are now offered at many cancer centers.
Treatment options are different, and so is your outlook on how your cancer will progress.
Five-year survival rates are a common and reliable measure of prognosis, but they never tell the whole story.
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National Cancer Institute: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program.Cancer stat facts: female breast cancer.
American Cancer Society.Breast cancer survival rates in men.
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Fred Hutchinson Cancer Institute.Living with stage 4: the breast cancer no one understands.
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