Many people who have been treated for breast cancer are afraid that the cancer is still there or that it will come back. These fears are normal. On average, 7 to 18 percent of women with early breast cancer have a local recurrence within 10 years after treatment, meaning the cancer will return to the breast, chest or lymph nodes in the armpit [2-4]. For more on recurrence, see the Treatment section.
Once you have had breast cancer, you have an increased risk of getting a new breast cancer, called a second primary breast cancer (for more on this, see the Risk Factors and Prevention section) [5-7]. This risk is even higher for those who have a strong family history or a mutation in one of the BRCA genes. And, the risk reaches beyond breast cancer to include an increased risk of certain other cancers as well, especially ovarian cancer (for more on this, see the Risk Factors and Prevention section) [7-11].
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to lower your risk of getting cancer again. The most important is to get regular medical care after treatment. If you are being treated with tamoxifen, raloxifene or aromatase inhibitors, taking the drugs as prescribed not only lowers the risk of the original cancer coming back but also lowers the risk of getting a second primary breast cancer.
Updated 03/14/09
