DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – It’s estimated that over 150,000 women in the United States have metastatic breast cancer, meaning the disease has spread outside the localized area of the breast.
Fortunately, advances in treatment are helping these women live longer, fuller lives — people like Amelia Pullium, who was hit with a double-whammy diagnosis in 2019: she had breast cancer and it had spread.
Dr. Zeina Nahleh with the Cleveland Clinic Weston said survival rates for patients with metastatic disease are improving.
In fact, it is a chronic disease where patients can live with breast cancer many years and receive treatment in collaboration with their oncology team,” Nahleh said.
It’s estimated that 6-10% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have late-stage disease which has spread to other organs, typically the bone, lung, brain and liver.