My sister had a breast cancer removed, and she was treated with radiation and chemotherapy. After a few radiation treatments, she began complaining of pain in her rib area. They did a bone scan and said it was probably a broken rib. Months later, after the pain didn't cease, they did another bone scan and saw the same spot. They then ordered an MRI and said that the cancer had come back. We were told that when breast cancer recurs, it is incurable, and the patient almost certainly will die from it, and there is nothing that can be done. Is this true?

T.S.

No, it is not true that "there is nothing that can be done." What is true is that a recurrence of breast cancer and metastases (spread of the cancer) to other parts of the body means a full cure is unlikely. Radiation and chemotherapy can prolong survival, even with metastatic disease. Bone marrow transplants have been effective in some cases. Herceptin, a new monoclonal antibody, shows great promise in attacking cancer cells and helping to delay the growth of metastases.

These treatments are not without significant side effects, and your sister needs to be completely evaluated and counseled. She should be seeing an oncologist well-versed in breast cancer; if possible, she should have a consultation with a breast cancer specialist at a regional major cancer center. While recurrences are never good, they do not mean there is absolutely no hope.