Let’s face it: A metastatic breast cancer diagnosis is scary. Unlike breast cancer, which has a very high survival rate—an average of 90% over five years—metastatic breast cancer isn’t curable.
But technology, treatments, and therapies are constantly improving, experts say, which means a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis is not an automatic death sentence.
“The most important thing to do in the face of a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis is to not lose hope,” says Karen Hendershott, M.D., fellowship-trained breast surgical oncologist at Arizona Oncology. “While we can’t currently cure metastatic breast cancer, we can treat it.”
Here’s what you need to know about life expectancy after a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis.