If the cancer has not spread to other organs, treatment of local or regional recurrences often depends on how the initial treatment was performed. If lumpectomy was performed, recurrent breast cancer will usually be treated with mastectomy . If the cancer has spread to other areas of the body, the situation is more serious. These symptoms are sometimes but not always associated with metastatic breast cancer, and having one or more of these symptoms does not necessarily mean a woman has metastatic breast cancer. Most women whose breast cancer has metastasized do not show symptoms until the disease is extensive.
Breast cancer can spread to almost any area of the body.
The bones of the spine, ribs, pelvis, skull, and long bones of the arms and legs are most often affected. With osteolytic metastases, the cancer eats away at the bone, forming holes. This most often occurs in the legs, hip, or pelvis. Osteoblastic metastases actually increase bone mineral density but also cause bones to fracture easily. Both types of bone metastases cause pain.