It is an unfortunate fact that even after a treatment has seemed successful breast cancer can reoccur at anytime, although most breast cancer reoccurrences happen within 3 to 5 years after the initial diagnosis was made. Such a reoccurrence can be local in nature, that is in the breast that was previously treated or somewhere in the vicinity of a mastectomy or lumpectomy scar, or it reoccur elsewhere in the body, most commonly the lungs and brain.

The medical community has established some common guidelines for accessing a woman’s risk for breast cancer reoccurring after initial treatment. The number of lymph nodes that were affected as a part of the initial diagnosis is one. The more that were affected, the greater the risk of the cancer coming back at a later date.

Doctors recommend that women who were diagnosed with node positive breast cancer continue with adjunct therapies to reduce their risk for a reoccurrence of their breast cancer. Such therapy usually involves the woman taking Tamoxifen, a drug that was designed to prevent breast cancer in high risk women. Studies have shown that this seems to be quite effective, as in women who did not receive such treatment there was a nearly 50% reoccurrence rate for node positive patients, and a 34% rate for those women whose initial cancer was node negative.

Although it is a new fight against an enemy the patient may have believed they vanquished reoccurring breast cancer can be treated as effectively as initial breast cancer if caught in the early stages. This is likely to happen as women who have experienced breast cancer in the past are far more aware of the risks and the need for regular mammograms and checkups with their doctor. The current recommendation from the American Cancer Society is that women who have had breast cancer follow up with their oncologist every 4 to 6 months for five years after initial diagnosis and then annually after that, while still ensuring that they have annual mammograms.