Is Stage 4 HER2 positive breast cancer curable?
Metastatic (stage 4) HER2-positive breast cancer is not curable—but it is treatable, and options continue to expand and improve.
How long do you have to live with Stage 4 breast cancer?
The five-year survival rate for stage 4 breast cancer is 22 percent; median survival is three years. Annually, the disease takes 40,000 lives. As with primary breast cancer, treatment for stage 4 breast cancer, such as chemotherapy or radiation, can often be harsh and unforgiving.
What is the survival rate of HER2 positive breast cancer?
The outlook for this type of cancer depends on things like the treatment you get and the stage of your cancer. But new treatments like chemotherapy plus trastuzumab have boosted early-stage HER2 positive breast cancer survival rates: 7-year disease-free: Around 93% 10-year disease-free: About 70%-75%
Can Stage 4 breast cancer go into remission?
There’s no current cure for stage 4 cancer. Still, it can be treated and managed. Most people with stage 4 breast cancer live with alternating periods of stable disease and disease progression.
How long can you live with breast cancer that has spread to the bones?
Some studies suggest that the average 1-year survival rate for people with metastatic bone cancer is 40–59%. However, the American Cancer Society states that people with distant breast cancer are 28% as likely to live for at least another 5 years as those without this condition.
How do you know if breast cancer has metastasized?
Metastatic Breast Cancer Symptoms and Diagnosis
- constant back, bone, or joint pain.
- difficulty with urinating (either incontinence or not being able to go); this can be a sign that the nerves in your back are being pinched by a cancer.
- numbness or weakness anywhere in your body.
- a constant dry cough.
- difficulty breathing.
What do breast cancer survival rates tell us?
For women with breast cancer, 89.7 percent survive for five years after diagnosis. This survival rate includes all women with breast cancer regardless of the stage or subtype. That figure varies widely by what stage the cancer is at the time of diagnosis.
What does HER2 negative mean?
When a breast cell has abnormally high levels of the HER2 gene or the HER2 protein, it is called HER2- positive. The cancer is called HER2-negative when it does not have high levels of the HER2 gene or the HER2 protein. Most patients with metastatic breast cancer have HER2-negative breast cancer.
What is triple positive breast cancer?
It is possible to have breast cancer that is both HER2-positive and hormone receptor-positive. Cancer that grows because of the hormones estrogen and progesterone, and HER2, is sometimes known as triple-positive breast cancer.
