has anyone heard of breast cancer of the lung?

I have a dear friend that was treated for stage I BC, five years ago.
She was taking some type of medication and then told to stop after five years. They discovered she had :breast cancer of the lungs".
They also stated that the medication she had been taking, "hide the cancer".
She has NEVER smoked.
How is this treated? They gave her a 60% chance of survival.

Hi Lyn, I am very sorry to here your friends cancer returned, I had part of my underarm and by my lung taken out. Alot of peole I talk to say they get the same cancer but in the lung. I will check it out more. I wonder if she was around smokers alot? I also am on meds, Can you find out what meds, I am interested to know. Remind her to keep a good attitude and that helps the fight. I dont know for sure but they might do high chemo, Did they give her the kind it is and what stage that will help me alot. Please take care, And let me know. I will be happy to work with you to find out. God bless you for being such a good friend. Take care, Debbie

I have read that the radiation treatment for breast cancer is directly over the lung, and so can cause cancer of the lung while treating the breast. Perhaps this is what is ment?

Hi Lyn I was talking with my cancer nurse and she told me you can get cancer from second hand smoke. Also She could have had alittle in her lung that no one saw and it got worse. I know cancer can come on fast. I know some Dr don't worry about small tumors (I had some and they went to stage 3 in 6 months) There is also hidden tumors. I hope the best Try to have her write down things so that she can keep ahead of the Dr. Also ask for the test so you can file them. If you ever want a second opinionshe has them. Sending positive thoughts, Luv,Debbie

If breast cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, and thereby spread to other parts of the body, wouldn't THIS still be breast cancer that just spread? Perhaps that is what they ment?

I believe if the cancer was like mine, I got stage 3 in 6 months, so I think that if it spreads fast that it needs to be checked. I am very glad I did. Best wishes to all. Debbie

Some post-surgical breast cancers (ductal carcinoma ER+) may not be totally effective with hormonal treatment. The cancer could spread to the chest wall, ribs, lungs and liver. Breast cancer that has spread to the lungs is still treated as breast cancer that has metastasized to the lungs.

Metastasis is a cancer that has moved from the primary (original) spot. In some respects, it often becomes more resistant to therapy than the primary tumor, but fundamentally it remains the same tumer-type (a breast cancer in the lung remains breast cancer).

Therefore, the treatment for a breast cancer that has metastasized to the lung is treated in a similar manner as if the tumor cells all were contained within the region of the breast. However, there are several protocols to choose from.

You can either try conventional "trial-and-error" therapy or "assay-directed" therapy. Assay-directed therapy individually finds the precise drug or drugs that is best able to kill the patient's own cancer cells, no matter which drug it happens to be and no matter what type of cancer it is.

For each cancer type, many drugs and drug combinations have been proven in clinical trials to produce about the same result among large groups of unselected patients.

However, looking at individual patients within a trial, all of whom have the same type and stage of cancer, some patients do not respond at all to a specific treatment while others respond very well, and even some patients achieve long-term remissions and even cures.

What this suggests is drug regimens should not be administered blindly but rather each patient's cancer cells should be tested to determine which of the otherwise equally-acceptable drug regimen has the very best chance of benefiting a particular patient.

Hi gpawelski, I have learned alot and this will help Lyn and others to understand more, Thank you, Debbie

Breast cancer that has metastasized can go to the lungs.

note: it is possible to get lung cancer and never smoke or be around smokers. 3 of the people that I met while doing chemo had this happen to them.

Once you have had breast cancer if any other cancers develop with in your body it is still considered breast cancer. Except in a different part of the body...thats my understanding on that one...hope it helps.

I've heard something like these and it's nearly similar to breast cancer. It's one rare of cancer which is terrible to have.
ny radiation oncologist