Risk Factors for Recurrence

Risk factors for recurrence of breast cancer are very complex. There is no crystal ball. There are NO absolute forecasts of what your future will be. In many cases, doctors can’t explain why one patient stays well and another does not. The most important factor that contributes to recurrence is the stage of the tumor. Staging is based on the tumor size, whether or not lymph nodes are involved, and if there is any distant spread of the disease. The smaller your tumor, the lower your risk. The fewer lymph nodes that have cancer, the lower your risk. If the cancer has not spread beyond the breast, the lower your risk. Unfortunately, having breast cancer in one breast puts you at increased risk for developing breast cancer in the opposite breast. Maintaining routine breast cancer screening after your diagnosis continues to be very important.

Studies have shown that over 60 percent of cancer deaths are related to lifestyle issues including smoking, improper diet, and lack of daily exercise. If physical activity can play a role in preventing cancer, couldn’t it also affect a person’s recovery from treatment? Growing scientific evidence suggests that physically fit cancer patients can fight the disease better, improve their quality of life, and maybe even live longer.

Women who gain weight after breast cancer diagnosis have a higher risk of recurrence. It is important to seek advice on nutrition and exercise so that you can achieve a body weight as close to ideal as possible.

A comprehensive study found that women who had a severely stressful life experience in the year before being diagnosed with breast cancer were not at increased risk for a recurrence of their disease. In the following five years after diagnosis, women who continued to have stressful life experiences were also not at increased risk for a recurrence. (BMJ 2000; 324:1420-2, “Stressful life experiences and risk of relapse of breast cancer: observational cohort study”).

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