Living With Breast Cancer
Resources, expertise, and survivor support to help you after a diagnosis
To help you along the way in the weeks and months after a breast cancer diagnosis, SurvivorNet has developed this series called Living With Breast Cancer.
The series is designed to help you navigate some of the challenges that may pop up as you plan for and undergo treatment — and beyond.
Handling a New Diagnosis
I have breast cancer — now what? Handling a new diagnosis
At this point, you’ve likely already had the phone call or met with your doctor and were told you have breast cancer. You’re getting a lot of information in those initial meetings, so you may be feeling confused, frustrated, or any number of other emotions.
We understand this is a hard time. In this section of Living With Breast Cancer, we’ll go over how to keep track of all the new information you’re getting — and offer some guidance on how to cope with emotions that can feel overwhelming.
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There are a few basic things you can do to help manage the process when you first learn of your cancer diagnosis. Dr. Heather Yeo, a colorectal surgeon at Weill Cornell and an advisor to SurvivorNet, has these tips for patients:
- Have someone come with you to the doctor
It is important to bring a close friend or family member not only to support you, but also to help you understand and digest all the information.
- Take notes
Writing down what you hear can help you focus and create a record of the information so you can refer to it later on.
- Don’t be afraid to get a second opinion
Your doctor won’t be offended if you get a second opinion. It is extremely important to go through the process with a doctor you trust — and make sure you’re getting the best care possible with a doctor you feel comfortable with.
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“How am I going to get through this?” It is often one of the first questions a person will ask after a cancer diagnosis.
“My advice is to take one day at a time and be kind to yourself,” Dr. Susan Parsons, Director of Survivorship Care at Tufts University, said.
Survivors also tells us it’s key to ask for the support you need — both mentally and physically. There is life after cancer so the goal is to keep hopeful and strong, and cut yourself some slack.
Understanding Your Cancer
What type of breast cancer do you have?
The treatment approach for breast cancer varies a great deal depending on your individual disease and how far the cancer has progressed (the stage). Treatment may involve surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, targeted therapies, or a combination of multiple approaches.
Doctors treating breast cancer look for markers on your particular cancer to help decide what course of treatment is best for you. That’s because cancer cells may have what are called receptors that help identify the unique features of the cancer.
The workup to determine the best course of treatment for breast cancer may include:
- Additional mammography
- A breast biopsy
- Blood tests
- Bone scan
- Breast MRI
- CT scan
- PET scan
- Immunohistochemistry (IHC) test to look for estrogen/progesterone receptors as well as HER2/Neu receptors
- Genetic testing
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Doctors treating breast cancer look for markers on your particular cancer to help decide what course of treatment is best for you. That’s because cancer cells may have what are called receptors that help identify the unique features of the cancer.
The three main receptors are the estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor, and the HER2 receptor. The estrogen and progesterone receptors go together because they are fueled by hormones. Think of the cancer cell as having little hands on the outside of the cell which grab hold of proteins that help it grow. These proteins are sometimes called “ligands.”
An example of a type of ligand that can stimulate a cancer cell is the hormone estrogen. An estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer will be stimulated by estrogen to grow. In this instance, your doctor may offer you treatment to specifically target the estrogen receptor.
Another important receptor to test for is the HER2 receptor. For HER2 positive breast cancers, therapies that uniquely target the HER2 receptor are essential to treating the disease.
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There are many factors that go into determining which breast cancer treatments a patient will be given, and what order those treatments will be given in.
Dr. Elisa Port, Chief of Breast Surgery at Mount Sinai Health System, explained to SurvivorNet that there are certain subtypes of the disease such as HER2-positive breast cancer or triple-negative breast cancer that sometimes benefit from having treatment first and then surgery.
The majority of other types of breast cancer will undergo surgery first, and then doctors use the information they learn during surgery to determine what additional treatment is needed.
“It’s very tailored, personalized precision medicine approach, for not only the person, but also the tumor,” Dr. Port said.
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Genetic screening may be ordered for patients who doctors suspect may have inherited a genetic mutation that puts them at risk for developing cancer. These tests can be useful in directing therapy and may also be useful for the patient’s relatives to better understand their risk of developing breast cancer.
Genetic sequencing of tumors has become standard practice, according to many experts.
The test allows doctors to understand some of the changes or mutations that may have evolved in a tumor.
This can help your doctor determine what the best course of treatment is for your individual disease — and they may be able to recommend a targeted therapy. The results you get from testing the tumor may also help your doctor determine if you are a good candidate for a clinical trial.
Preparing for Treatment
Assembling your treatment team
It can be challenging to find a doctor and decide where to get treatment. When you’re stressed, it’s easy to overlook some options.
We’ve consulted several experts in the field to get advice about planning during this early stage of the treatment process and to learn why it’s incredibly important to establish a trusted doctor-patient relationship.
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“What would you do if someone in your family got cancer?” We put that question to some of the most renowned cancer doctors in the country.
National Cancer Institute Chief of Surgery Steven Rosenberg recommends seeking out multiple professional opinions to confirm a diagnosis and figure out the options. Highly respected doctors sometimes disagree on the right course of treatment, and advances in genetics and immunotherapy are creating new options.
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Although there will always be limitations on how much time a doctor can spend with any given patient, the doctor-patient relationship is extremely important after a cancer diagnosis.
You’ll want to make sure you are working with a doctor you trust, who will respect your opinion and keep you informed about all of the treatment options for your particular diagnosis.
Dr. Nina Shah, a hematologist at UCSF Medical Center, stressed the importance of patients feeling comfortable enough to voice concerns to their doctors.
“It’s on us to make sure that we are emotionally available to the patients, and as available as we can be with our time, although there are always limitations there,” Dr. Shah explained.
Part of the doctor-patient relationship involves the patient feeling seen and heard — and advocating for themselves where they see fit.
Breast Cancer Types
How are different types of breast cancer treated differently?
When your doctor is determining the treatment for your particular cancer, there are many considerations that factor into the decision. For example: what is the size of the tumor and are lymph nodes or other parts of the body affected?
The biology of your tumor is also important: is your tumor positive for the HER2 receptor or hormone receptors? Did you inherit an increased risk for breast cancer and/or did your lifestyle increase your risk?
Breast cancer is not one disease, but many different diseases. Here are some treatment considerations for some of those different types.
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Hormone therapy for breast cancer is one line of defense in the vast tool kit for treatment.
It’s used for hormone receptor-positive cancers, which are the most common types of breast cancers. When a tumor is “hormone receptor-positive,” it means that a pathologist has run special tests on the cancer to determine that it is positive for either the estrogen and/or progesterone receptor.
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Tamoxifen is a selective estrogen receptor modulator which means it works to prevent estrogen from helping cancer cells to grow. It is also used to prevent breast cancer among pre-menopausal women who are high-risk because of family history.
There are side effects for some patients, many of which mimic menopause (like hot flashes), but they can be managed.
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Triple negative breast cancer means that your cancer does not express any of the three main types of receptors: estrogen, progesterone, or the HER2 protein on the cell surface.
Because of this, the cancer won’t respond to certain targeted therapies including hormone therapy or Her2-targeted agents like Herceptin. Chemotherapy is typically the treatment and there are several options.
Triple negative breast cancer is an aggressive form of the disease and if the cancer is advanced, your doctor may also recommend participation in a clinical trial that involves immunotherapy or targeted therapies.
Women who are diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer have high levels of the HER2 protein on the outside of their cancer cells. For patients with early-stage disease, meaning they have relatively small tumors and no lymph involvement, a number of HER2-directed therapies have dramatically changed the landscape. These include drugs like Herceptin and Perjeta.
There are also several drugs that have improved overall survival for patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.
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HER2 “low” may become a new commonly classified subtype of breast cancer. HER2 “low” as a breast cancer type would include approximately 50% of all patients and opens the door for new treatments and research.
A new study of the experimental drug Enhertu, presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, gives hope to women with metastatic HER2 “low” breast cancer. The findings could be the most important development in breast cancer care and treatment in a decade.
Because of recent data, any patient who’s been told they are HER2 negative should go to their doctor and ask if they should be reclassified as HER2 low and if they should therefore consider being treated with Enhertu.
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CD4/CD6 are a class of medications that can be used to treat certain types of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.
Estrogen receptor-positive means a breast cancer needs the hormone estrogen to grow. CD4/CD6 drugs work by stopping progression of the cell cycle, with the goal of slowing the rate at which that cancer cell can grow.
There are several different CD4/CD6 inhibitors on the market, including Ibrance, Kisqali, and Verzenio.
Previously, the drugs were only used for women who had advanced disease.
Recently, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) approved expanding the use, noting they can also be used in combination with endocrine therapy (tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor) for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative, node-positive, early breast cancer at high risk of recurrence.
Surgery: What to Expect
What to know about breast cancer surgery
In many cases, surgery is part of the treatment plan for women with breast cancer. If you are planning to undergo surgery, you may be struggling to accept the emotional and physical side effects it can have, and wondering how you will adjust to your new body.
This section of our Living With Metastatic Breast Cancer guide covers the basics of mastectomy and lumpectomy, as well as how reconstruction works. You’ll also get a look at other inspiring ways some women reclaim their self image after surgery.
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Mastectomy is the removal of the entire breast during surgery. There are a number of factors to weigh when considering a mastectomy — chief among them is whether breast-conserving surgery (or lumpectomy) is possible.
Your doctor will look at the size and features of your tumor as well as your family history in order to make a recommendation.
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In a procedure called “nipple-sparing mastectomy,” doctors use special techniques to shell out a woman’s breast, leaving the skin and the nipple intact. The idea is to maintain, as closely as possible, the natural look of the breast.
After mastectomy, a plastic surgeon will use either an implant or the woman’s own tissue to recreate the breast.
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Choosing what kind of surgery to have is a very personal choice.
“As a breast surgeon, my job is [to help patients] understand that their long-term survival with mastectomy is equivalent to that with lumpectomy and radiation,” Dr. Sarah Cate, a breast surgeon at Mount Sinai Health System, explained.
Often women will request to have both breasts removed, believing it’s the best way to prevent the cancer from recurring. This is not always the case.
The size of the tumor, its genetic markers, and the patient’s family history are all factors to consider when choosing which surgery to undergo.
Chemotherapy FAQ
Chemotherapy, hair loss, wigs: Answers to common chemo questions
If chemotherapy is part of your treatment plan, you may be worried about a number of potential problems — from how you’ll feel mentally to the physical side effects and if you’ll be able to continue working.
We consulted experts to break down common chemo side effects, how long they last, and plans you can make with your doctor to help mitigate them.
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There are a lot of myths about how chemotherapy impacts people’s lives. It’s sometimes assumed that while undergoing chemotherapy you’ll be restricted to your home, and unable to move around but this is certainly not the case in many situations, Dr. Marleen Meyers, an oncologist at NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet.
Many people can continue to work through treatment and Dr. Meyers encourages her patients to exercise, even if it’s just a walk. It can make a huge difference when dealing with fatigue, a common side effect of chemotherapy.
There are also treatments to help with the side effects of chemotherapy. Many medications are available for treating nausea and vomiting as well as anemia.
For some people, scalp-cooling devices may be able to help prevent hair loss. For others, hair loss may be inevitable — and that can lead to a lot of anxiety.
While many survivors embrace their temporary looks, others really struggle with the idea of people seeing them without hair. For women especially, hair is often very much a part of identity.
There are plenty of options available, including some created by cancer survivors, to help keep you comfortable during this time — including wigs, head wraps, and hats.
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Many people going through cancer treatment feel a sense of dread associated with the thought of losing their hair.
Such a drastic physical change may lead to anxiety and sleepless nights.
Patients can speak to their caregivers to see if any interventions are possible, and should also look into products that are specifically made for people dealing with temporary hair loss — like wigs, head wraps, and more.
Talking about these anxieties can help, but it’s also OK to say so if you are not comfortable discussing it, Psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Boardman stressed.
Metastatic Breast Cancer
What are the treatment options for late-stage breast cancer?
Metastatic, or stage four, breast cancer means that the disease has spread to distant parts of the body. While it is not considered curable, there are many treatment options available that can drastically improve the quality of life for people living with advanced breast cancer.
There have been incredible advances in treating metastatic breast cancer in the past few years alone. What sort of treatment your doctor recommends will depend on factors like your overall health, genetics, the biology of the tumor, and more.
In this section of Living With Breast Cancer, we’ve rounded up some of the latest advances in treating the disease — and when they can be used.
For women with HER2-positive breast cancer, meaning they have high levels of a protein called HER2 on the surface of their cancer cells, targeted treatments are available.
Exciting new research has also indicated that women with metastatic HER2-“low” breast cancer may have new options as well.
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For women with HER2-positive breast cancer, the drugs trastuzumab (Herceptin) and pertuzumab (Perjeta) have transformed the outlook for some women with late-stage breast cancers.
These therapies, which are often combined with chemo, are very effective at controlling breast cancer once it has spread.
Women with metastatic HER2-“low” breast cancer may have new options as well. In the past, doctors divided patients into two categories based on HER2 expression: HER2 positive tumors and HER2 negative tumors.
Recently, however, researchers have looked to further expand this definition to include patients who have a minimal amount of HER2 expression but do not meet the classic definition for HER2-positive tumors.
This means there could be more treatment options for women who fall in this HER2-“low” category.
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Another big advancement has come in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer. This has historically been one of the most aggressive and hardest to treat forms of the disease, because it lacks any of the main drivers of breast cancer the estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor, and the HER2 receptor and it doesn’t respond to treatments that target these receptors.
Now, in addition to chemotherapy, immunotherapy has been approved to treat triple-negative breast cancer. In studies, this new therapy has been shown to extend the lives of women with this type of cancer.
Recently, a new antibody drug conjugate, Trodelvy, showed promise in extending life and progression-free survival in some women with triple negative breast cancer as well.
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For postmenopausal women with hormone-receptor-positive and HER2-negative breast cancers, a newer class of drugs called CDK4/6 inhibitors are available. These drugs have been shown to improve survival in some women with metastatic cancer.
These drugs work to decrease the amount of estrogen that can be taken into a cancer cell, with the goal of slowing the rate at which that cancer cell can expand.
Data from a recent clinical trial called NATALEE found that patients with this specific type of breast cancer who received a CDK4/6 inhibitor called Ribociclib (sold under brand names Kisqali and Kryxana), plus endocrine therapy, had a 25% lower risk of recurrence or death.
Body Image
Body image, sex, and feeling comfortable in your own skin after treatment
Cancer treatment can change your physical appearance in many ways that may be difficult to cope with.
With breast cancer, you may undergo surgery, radiation, and other treatments that alter both how you look and how you see yourself. Many survivors struggle with their body image during and after treatment.
What’s important to realize here is that these feelings are normal, there are things you can do to feel better — and, of course, you are not alone.
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Many women struggle to feel comfortable in their own skin after undergoing cancer treatment. When it comes to feeling sexy and comfortable being intimate again, it may take time — and that’s OK.
A cancer diagnosis absolutely does not mean your sex life is over.
“It takes time after breast cancer [treatment] for some women to feel sexy again, to feel good in their skin again,” Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a breast oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet.
Diet, Exercise & Stress Management
Living with cancer: Diet, exercise & stress management
You may be wondering if you’ll have to make any major changes to your lifestyle while going through cancer treatment — and once you finish and move onto life as a survivor.
That will largely depend on your diagnosis and what type of treatment you are undergoing. Different people manage treatment in very different ways.
This section our Living With Breast Cancer series focuses on everyday health basics — like diet, exercise, and stress management — during and after treatment.
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When undergoing chemotherapy, the main diet goal is to maintain weight.
Krista Maruschak, a registered dietician at the Cleveland Clinic, says that eating six smaller meals a day and packing some extra calories and proteins into these meals when possible can make a big difference.
Extra calories doesn’t mean you should have a bag of potato chips with every meal. Things like nuts, dairy products, olive oil, avocados, and hummus are all healthy fats that will do the trick.
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Dr. Marleen Meyers, a medical oncologist at NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet that people living with cancer should focus on a healthy diet rather than trying to get their nutrition through supplements.
“A very important issue to remember…is that they are not FDA-controlled, which means that you don’t really know what you’re getting,” she explained.
When you are going through treatment, it’s important that you continue to live and maintain a healthy lifestyle to the extent that you can.
While you may not feel up to your former workout routine for months or even years, staying active in other ways can make a huge difference.
Getting stress under control is another part of living a generally healthy lifestyle. Many experts in the cancer field have shared with SurvivorNet that patients tend to do better when they are less stressed.
Yet, this is easier said than done when living with cancer. One approach to managing stress that many people living with cancer embrace is meditation.
When dealing with a journey that can be nerve-wracking and very emotional, it can really help to take some time to quiet the mind. To help you get started, we’ve included the below quick & simple guided meditation.
Fertility Options
Fertility options for women with breast cancer
Many young women diagnosed with cancer are concerned about how it will impact their ability to have a family in the future. Treatments like chemotherapy and radiation can harm eggs and reduce a woman’s chances of conceiving.
However, there are many options for fertility preservation, including freezing eggs or embryos for future use.
In this section of Living With Breast Cancer, we break down fertility options and why it is important to speak to your doctor as soon as possible if family planning is important to you.
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There are a variety of fertility preservation options for women who are diagnosed with breast cancer.
While these preservation techniques may not be an option for all young women with breast cancer, it’s important to speak to your doctor to learn what options may be available to you.
“Time is always of the essence when we see patients who have cancer,” Dr. Jaime Knopman, Director of Fertility Preservation at CCRM NY, told SurvivorNet.
“In our own practice, we usually see the patient the same day, if not the next day [after a diagnosis] because the sooner we start, the sooner that patient can then go on and do their treatment.
“A lot of the success comes down to how old you are at the time you froze, and the quality of the lab in which your eggs or embryos were frozen in,” she added.
Survivor Stories
Inspiring breast cancer survivors share what got them through treatment
When it comes to coping with hardships that come with a cancer diagnosis, patients turn to many different outlets.
Here at SurvivorNet, we’ve spoken to dozens and dozens of breast cancer survivors about the unique approaches they took to get themselves through the tough times.
This section of Living With Breast Cancer focuses on a range of different ways to stay positive — from faith and spirituality to finding humor in the struggle.
More Resources
Living with breast cancer
You’ve made it to the end of Living With Breast Cancer. We hope you were able to find some helpful information and some of the support you are looking for as you continue your cancer journey.
Be sure to check out SurvivorNet’s designated section on breast cancer to learn even more about the basics of your disease, the specific type you have, and what you can expect during the treatment process — and beyond.
We also provide regular updates on any new treatment options as well as inspiring survivors stories.
At SurvivorNet, we’re here to help survivors like you navigate the complex world of treatment and living with cancer.
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