Many people are wondering how the road to a tenacious battle with breast cancer can become smoother and smoother, without the risk of recurrence and metastasis hindering the way forward as much as possible. At the recent Expert Symposium on Early Breast Cancer Treatment held in Beijing, the latest results of the 100-month ATAC clinical trial study, the world’s largest and longest follow-up milestone study of adjuvant early breast cancer treatment with aromatase inhibitors for breast cancer to date, were announced, showing that active treatment at the critical postoperative 1 The new results from the ATAC 100-month study show that aggressive treatment during the critical postoperative period of 1 – 3 years can effectively reduce the risk of recurrence. The past year of 2007 was an eventful year for breast cancer, with several public figures dying of breast cancer. There are also many women around us, who either gave up treatment due to excessive fear of failure of breast conservation, or failed to fight successfully against the disease due to recurrence of tumor metastasis caused by improper post-operative control. While ordinary people are afraid of cancer, breast cancer patients are afraid of recurrence. According to a recent global study, 70% of specialists believe that for women who have been treated for early-stage breast cancer, the greatest fear is recurrence and metastasis, even more than when they first learn of their breast cancer. Reducing the risk of recurrence after breast cancer surgery means a better chance of saving more lives. Breast cancer is one of the best treated cancers available, and with successful management of the risk of recurrence, breast cancer patients can have a long survival period. Dialing the anti-cancer pendulum, 1-3 years after surgery is the most critical: For breast cancer patients, 5 years after breast cancer surgery is a high risk period for recurrence, with the highest risk from 1 to 3 years after surgery. Once breast cancer recurrence or metastasis occurs, it will be much more difficult to treat and may directly threaten the patient’s life. Some data show that after breast cancer metastasis occurs, the survival rate of patients will be significantly reduced, for example, the 5-year survival rate of bone metastasis is about 16%, the 5-year survival rate of lung metastasis is about 12%, and the 5-year survival rate of liver metastasis is almost zero. Breast cancer patients should actively adjust the pendulum of fighting cancer and grasp the critical period of treatment 1-3 years after surgery, so that the clock of life will not slow down or stop due to the risk of recurrence. Rejecting one-and-done, grasp the standardized course of treatment: Generally speaking, breast cancer recurrence can take many forms, mainly local recurrence, contralateral new recurrence and distant metastasis. Contralateral new recurrence refers to the occurrence of breast cancer in one breast after mastectomy and the other breast. Usually, the risk of primary breast cancer in the opposite breast increases 3-4 times after breast cancer in one side. Distant metastasis refers to the metastasis of breast cancer to distant parts of the body, such as lungs, bones, liver and other organs or tissues through blood channels. Usually nearly two-thirds of breast cancer recurrence will lead to distant metastasis, which is the biggest cause of death from breast cancer. Therefore, experts say that preventing breast cancer recurrence and metastasis within 5 years requires a scientific approach to treatment decisions, as well as supporting patients with care and encouragement.The latest data from the 100-month ATAC Milestone Study shows that anastrozole can reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence and metastasis across the board, significantly extending patients’ disease-free survival; its protective effect continues even after 4 years of completing a standardized course of treatment . This shows the long-term benefits of early and scientific dosing and for breast cancer patients. Experts recommend that for eligible patients (i.e., hormone-sensitive early-stage breast cancer patients), appropriate pharmacological treatments and standard regimens of adjuvant endocrine therapy for breast cancer should be used as early as possible after surgery. This will gain patients a longer survival time and better quality of life. If aggressive means can be taken to effectively reduce the risk of recurrence, the road against cancer can go to 5 years, 9 years, or even longer.