When breast cancer is found and treated early, the chances for survival are greater. The prognosis for patients at this stage can be encouraging and following treatment many patients may never experience relapse and could enjoy a full life for years without a recurrence.

Unfortunately some women with hormone receptor breast cancer will have their cancer return, and over half of those recurrences occur more than five years after surgery.1

Other management options are available such as switching to a different treatment regime, stopping treatment altogether or seeking alternative or complementary therapy. It is very important to discuss these options with your breast cancer specialist before making a decision about future management.

1. Early Breast Cancer Trialists Group, Oxford UK, Effects of chemotherapy and hormonal therapy for early breast cancer on recurrence and 15-year survival: an overview of the randomised trials, Lancet 2005; 365: 1687–1717