Regional recurrence in the lymph nodes of the neck or above the collarbone usually indicates more aggressive cancers. Besides local and regional recurrences, a new cancer may occasionally occur years after the initial cancer. Usually, the new cancer is in a different area of the breast and does not have the same pathology. Second cancers are treated as new cancers, independent of the first cancer. A distant recurrence of breast cancer is called metastatic disease.
Breast cancer has the potential to spread to almost any region of the body.
The most common region is bone, followed by the lung and liver. These symptoms are sometimes but not always associated with metastatic breast cancer. Additionally, having one or more of these symptoms does not necessarily mean a woman has metastatic breast cancer. Any changes in health should be reported to a physician for further examination. Metastatic breast cancer is usually diagnosed by bone scan, CAT scan, MRI scan, or liver blood tests.