Is breast cancer incurable if it has metastasized?

  Is breast cancer incurable if it has metastasized? Not necessarily. Generally speaking, the common metastatic sites of breast cancer are lung and pleura, bone, skin and soft tissue, liver and brain in order. The treatment methods and results of metastasis differ from one site to another. Lung is the most common site of breast cancer metastasis. It usually starts with dry cough, chest tightness and shortness of breath, which are ineffective to antimicrobial treatment. The commonly used treatment is chemotherapy, which can generally shrink the lesions or achieve complete regression in more than 60% of patients in a short period of time. Pleural metastases are usually manifested as pleural effusion, which can be extracted by thoracentesis and injected with drugs for intrathoracic infusion chemotherapy. Carboplatin and other drugs are often used, and the anti-cancer Chinese medicine Rangeolene or biological agents such as tumor necrosis factor can also be used. Generally, they will have good short-term efficacy. The metastasis of these two sites is treated with rationalization.  Bone metastasis is also very common, generally the metastasis of thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, pelvis and ribs are common. They manifest as skeletal pain at the damaged site. Commonly used effective methods are endocrine therapy, isotope therapy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and bisphosphonates. Endocrine therapy can take into account the other organs of the body, while isotope therapy only works on the bones, and radiotherapy can damage the normal organs at the site of exposure and is limited by dose and location, so it is often used only for pain relief. Bisphosphonates are more effective in relieving pain and inhibiting bone destruction, reducing the occurrence of events related to bone metastases, and may also be beneficial for long-term survival of patients when applied long-term. Although bone metastases are more severe.       However, if they are not combined with metastases from other sites, such cases usually develop more slowly and are sensitive to various treatments, and may achieve unexpected long-term survival with reasonable treatment. Skin and soft tissue metastases are generally sensitive to chemotherapy and endocrine, and the recent results are better. However, it should be noted that some patients initially present with only some isolated metastases, such as a single metastasis on the clavicle or in a localized area. Some patients are treated with surgical resection + complementary radiotherapy, but neglect the very important systemic treatment, and as a result, second and third metastases soon appear.  Liver metastases are generally not very sensitive to chemotherapy and endocrine therapy, and the use of interventional therapy can often achieve better recent results, but the prolongation of their survival is not too obvious. Brain metastases generally have a poor prognosis and are often treated with radiotherapy.  Of course, a reasonable treatment strategy is very important for advanced breast cancer to achieve the expected treatment effect. Some people often use chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, radiotherapy and TCM treatment together in order to achieve a good curative effect. This is actually unsure of one of the treatments and has no bottom in mind, which not only defeats the purpose and causes waste, but also creates difficulties for further treatment later. Clinical experience proves that, in terms of treatment strategy, it is better to adopt a “relay race” rather than a “100-meter sprint”. Because different treatment methods have different mechanisms of action, simultaneous use does not add up to efficacy, while using them one after another allows patients to have a new method after one treatment method fails, thus winning the longest survival period.