Many people who have breast cancer are cured by their initial treatment. Your specialist can usually give you some idea of the risk of the cancer coming back in your case. They do this by looking at a number of factors including
- the stage of the cancer (the size of the tumour and whether it has spread to the lymph glands)
- and its grade (how fast or slow growing it is).
If breast cancer comes back, this might be be in, or close to, the remaining breast tissue (local recurrence) or in another part of the body (secondary or metastatic cancer).
The signs of local recurrence are a lump developing in the remaining breast tissue or, in the scar or skin around the scar. Sometimes the cancer will come back in a lymph gland. This might show up as a lump in the armpit, neck or close to the collar bone on the side where the cancer was removed. Sometimes, if cancer comes back in the lymph glands in the armpit, the arm becomes swollen - this is known as lymphoedema.
It's best to ask your doctor for advice if you notice any changes.
The symptoms of breast cancer coming back in another part of the body vary according to where the cancer spreads to. But, there are a few general symptoms that some women have. These include:
- being more tired than usual
- generally feeling unwell
- having less of an appetite.
If you have new symptoms, particularly if they aren't getting better, discuss them with your doctor. But remember that these general symptoms may be caused by other common conditions, such as colds and flu. They can also occur for weeks or months after treatment for primary breast cancer and may not be due to a secondary breast cancer.