Gurugram: Woman with rare stage-4 advanced breast cancers beats the odds with accurate diagnosis

Studies have shown that nearly 60% of breast cancer cases in India are diagnosed at Stage III or IV, with the 5-year survival rate for Stage IV (metastatic) breast cancer being approximately 24.5%.

A 62-year-old woman diagnosed with two advanced-stage 4 breast cancers and a tumor was treated through targeted therapies. Doctors said that the patient was in severe pain and had a medical history of a silent lump growing in her lungs recently recovered from the rare complex malignancies found after an accurate diagnosis and coordinated treatment.

Doctors said that the patient was in severe pain and had a medical history of a silent lump . (Jo Panuwat D - stock.adobe.com)

According to experts, it was discovered through PET-CT scan and biopsy that the lung tumor was an independent malignancy known as “neuroenocrine tumor” in medical terms, which does not spread from breast cancer and requires separate therapy.

“Most patients and physicians assume that a lung tumor in advanced breast cancer is a spread of the same disease. In this case, careful reasoning and thorough diagnostics showed us that the lung lesion was a second tumor. This distinction changed the treatment approach and allowed us to treat both cancers with curative intent,” said Dr. Devanshee Shah at Paras Healthcare.

Shah said the patient was treated with a combination of neoadjuvant hormone therapy, targeted therapies, and bone-protective agents for her Oligometastatic breast cancer and lung tumor. “After three months, her PET scan showed complete regression of the tumor in her left breast and bone metastasis, and over 50% reduction in her right breast and axillary tumors,” Shah said.

The doctor added that the lung tumor remained stable, enabling sequential curative surgeries for it and breast tumors.

“Until this happened to me, I thought stories of people beating stage 4 cancer were just exaggerated. For the first time, I felt confident about my treatment due to the compassion shown by people around me,” said the survivor, requesting anonymity.

Studies have shown that nearly 60% of breast cancer cases in India are diagnosed at Stage III or IV, with the 5-year survival rate for Stage IV (metastatic) breast cancer being approximately 24.5%.