Identification

• Because metastasized breast cancer is no longer confined only to one part of your body, surgery and radiation are typically not effective treatments, explains the American Cancer Society. Instead, doctors use medications that have systemic or whole-body effects.
  
  

Types of Medications

• Hormone therapy like the medications leuprolide or tamoxifen treat metastasized breast cancer by cutting off the supplies of estrogen that tumor cells need to thrive. Four to six month regimens of chemotherapy medications like paclitaxel target and destroy cancer cells. The drug bevacizumab slows the growth of cancer cells, which is beneficial when combined with chemotherapy.
  
  

Factors

• What treatments will be used to treat your cancer depend upon the type of tumor you are suffering from, the exact location of both the primary and secondary cancers, your age and general health. Your doctor may elect to use only one treatment or may use a combination of therapies.
  
  

Risks

• Hormone therapy poses a risk for osteoporosis as well as side effects like hot flashes. Chemotherapy has the potential to cause shortage of white blood cells, causing bacterial and viral infections, warns the Mayo Clinic.
  
  

Considerations

• Even with treatment for metastasized breast cancer, only 20 percent of women who discover tumors that have progressed to Stage 4 survive for five years after diagnosis, according to the American Cancer Society.