More distant metastases are also possible. Supraclavicular lymph nodes can be involved. Other organs can be sites of metastases, and such sites as lung, bone, and liver are more common. All other cancers have a greater potential to metastasize than those listed above. The stage of a breast cancer is based upon its size and degree of spread.
Therapy needs to be appropriate for each individual woman.
At the same time sampling of axillary lymph nodes can be done to determine if lymph node metastases are present. A total mastectomy with removal of the breast can be performed. The survival following BCS is generally as good as for total mastectomy, other factors being equal. Surgical procedures may be combined with radiation therapy and or chemotherapy, depending upon the type of cancer present and hormone receptor status. Radiation, coupled with BCS, may help to reduce the incidence of a second cancer in the breast when intraductal carcinoma is diagnosed.