Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Overview
Staging
Treatment
Survival Rates
Coping
Stage 2 breast cancer survival rates are high and with the right treatment, the outlook is very good. Stage 2 breast cancer means your tumor is at least 1 centimeter (cm) in size and has spread to lymph nodes.
Treatment of stage 2 breast cancer usually includes surgery (either a lumpectomy or mastectomy), and adjuvant chemotherapy (therapy after the initial treatment) is often recommended. Radiation therapy is needed after a lumpectomy, but may or may not be needed after a mastectomy.
This article discusses the diagnosis and treatment of stage 2 breast cancer. It also looks at survival rates for people who are diagnosed at this stage.
Verywell / Jessica Olah
Stage 2 breast cancer is considered invasive, meaning that cancer cells have broken out of the ducts or lobules of the breast. This is not the same asmetastatic(stage 4) breast cancer. It means that abnormal cells have passed through a thin layer of tissue called the basement membrane and have the potential to spread.
3:01Breast Cancer Treatment Options
3:01
Breast Cancer Treatment Options
In this system:
Your treatment can include a combination of approaches. Treatment options include:
Local Treatments
Surgical choices will include a lumpectomy or a mastectomy. If you opt for a mastectomy, it will also be important to consider the pros and cons of having asingle vs. a double mastectomy.
After a mastectomy, an oncologist may determine that radiation is necessary if the tumor was larger than 5 cm, if there was lymph node involvement, or if cancer was found outside of surgical margins.
Systemic Treatments (Adjuvant)
These therapies will affect your whole body and will help prevent a recurrence. Depending on your age, general health, hormone receptor status, lymph node involvement, andHER2 testingresults, you may be given:
With triple-negative breast cancer, immunotherapy can sometimes be part of systemic therapy. The drug Lynparza (olaparib), a PARP inhibitor, is now being used as part of systemic therapy to treat early-stage and metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation that has previously been treated with chemotherapy—either before or after surgery.
Neoadjuvant Treatment
Your oncologist may suggest systemic treatments before surgery to shrink the tumor.When this approach is successful, the smaller tumor can be removed and local treatment may be given if needed.
Some tumors don’t respond well to pre-treatment; when that happens, a mastectomy will be necessary. You may then considerbreast reconstruction.
You may spend three to 18 months or longer in the active treatment of stage 2 breast cancer. It may range from surgery and six weeks of radiation to a full array of chemo, radiation, and biologic therapies.
If the tumor is estrogen receptor-positive, hormone therapy is usually prescribed for five to 10 years. For those who are postmenopausal, bisphosphonate therapy may be recommended as well to reduce the risk of recurrence.If the cancer is HER2-positive, targeted therapy is often used prior to surgery.
Survival Rates for Stage 2 Breast Cancer
Stage 2 breast cancer survival rates are high, but it is important to understand that the rates are not a direct indication of how long you will live following the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Rather, rates reflect how many people on average will be expected to survive for a given period of time.
The five-year survival rate for stage 2 breast cancer is 93% for women who have completed treatment. Women with stage 3 cancer have a five-year survival rate of 75%.
Treatments continue to improve over time, so you may have a longer-term estimated survival if you are newly diagnosed.
Is Stage 2 Breast Cancer Curable?Stage 2 breast cancer is curable with the right treatment. Although recurrence is possible, the chances can be reduced with radiation treatment and appropriate follow-up care.
Is Stage 2 Breast Cancer Curable?
Stage 2 breast cancer is curable with the right treatment. Although recurrence is possible, the chances can be reduced with radiation treatment and appropriate follow-up care.
After your treatment is completed, you will have a five-year minimum follow-up period with your oncologist; check-ups will take place every three then every six months.
During this time, you may need to takehormone therapyif your tumor was hormone-sensitive. Sometimes hormone therapy is recommended beyond five years for those with estrogen receptor-positive tumors.
If your tumor is estrogen-receptor positive, your oncologist may also recommend that you use bisphosphonate therapy if you are postmenopausal. Bisphosphonates are medications that are used for the treatment of osteoporosis, and they also may help reduce the chance that breast cancer will spread to bones (the most common site of metastases).
What are the chances of breast cancer recurrence after treatment for stage 2 breast cancer?
For women diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer, the 15-year rate of local recurrence is about 16%.
Unlike some cancers, routine scans are not usually done after primary treatment for stage 2 breast cancer has been completed. The reason for this, even though recurrence is a possibility, is that finding a recurrence early (before symptoms appear) does not improve survival.For those who have finished treatment, it’s important to be familiar with the potential signs and symptoms of arecurrenceand to contact your healthcare provider with any concerns.
After five years, you may only need to see your oncologist annually, but these visits most often continue throughout your life.Check-ups are important to make sure that recovery is going smoothly and that treatment for recurrence won’t be needed.
Breast Cancer Healthcare Provider Discussion GuideGet our printable guide for your next healthcare provider’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.Download PDFEmail AddressSign UpThank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up.There was an error. Please try again.
Get our printable guide for your next healthcare provider’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.
Download PDF
Email AddressSign UpThank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up.There was an error. Please try again.
Sign Up
Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up.
There was an error. Please try again.
If you’ve been recently diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer, you may feel overwhelmed.
There is a multitude of resources for receiving support and learning more about your diagnosis. Ask for help and reach out to your loved ones.Consider becoming involved in one of the active breast cancer support groups or support communities available.
Most importantly, learnhow to be your own advocate in your cancer care.Cancer treatments are changing rapidly, and it’s important to understand the options available so you can be an active member of your cancer treatment team.
Summary
If you’ve been diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer, the outlook is very good. You are more likely to have chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy than if your tumor was stage 1, but these tumors are still very treatable.
If your cancer is successfully treated, you will need follow-up care, which includes treatment that decreases the chances of a cancer recurrence.
Understanding Stage 3 Breast Cancer
23 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Akram M, Iqbal M, Daniyal M, Khan AU.Awareness and current knowledge of breast cancer.Biol Res. 2017;50(1):33.doi:10.1186/s40659-017-0140-9
Marta GN, Poortmans PM, Buchholz TA, Hijal T.Postoperative radiation therapy after nipple-sparing or skin-sparing mastectomy: A survey of European, North American, and South American practices.Breast J. 2017;23(1):26-33. doi:10.1111/tbj.12683
Cancer: What do the codes in the doctor’s letter mean?InformedHealth.org [Internet].
Giuliano AE, Connolly JL, Edge SB, et al.Breast cancer-major changes in the American Joint Committee on Cancer Eighth Edition Cancer Staging Manual.CA Cancer J Clin. 2017;67(4):290-303. doi:10.3322/caac.21393
Koh J, Kim MJ. Introduction of a New Staging System of Breast Cancer for Radiologists: An Emphasis on the Prognostic Stage.Korean J Radiol. 2019;20(1):69–82. doi:10.3348/kjr.2018.0231
Sopik V, Narod SA.The relationship between tumour size, nodal status and distant metastases: on the origins of breast cancer.Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2018;170(3):647–656. doi:10.1007/s10549-018-4796-9
Yao K, Sisco M, Bedrosian I.Contralateral prophylactic mastectomy: current perspectives.Int J Womens Health. 2016;8:213–223. doi:10.2147/IJWH.S82816
Kunte S, Abraham J, Montero AJ.Novel HER2-targeted therapies for HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.Cancer. 2020;126(19):4278-4288. doi:10.1002/cncr.33102
Breastcancer.org.Lynparza.
Teven CM, Schmid DB, Sisco M, Ward J, Howard MA.Systemic Therapy for Early-Stage Breast Cancer: What the Plastic Surgeon Should Know.Eplasty. 2017;17:e7. PMID: 28293332
Wimmer K, Strobl S, Bolliger M, et al.Optimal duration of adjuvant endocrine therapy: how to apply the newest data.Ther Adv Med Oncol. 2017;9(11):679–692. doi:10.1177/1758834017732966
Giaquinto AN, Sung H, Miller KD, et al.Breast cancer statistics, 2022.CA Cancer J Clin. 2022;72(6):524-541. doi:10.3322/caac.21754
Bodai BI, Tuso P.Breast cancer survivorship: a comprehensive review of long-term medical issues and lifestyle recommendations.Perm J. 2015;19(2):48–79. doi:10.7812/TPP/14-241
Gupta S, Singh M, Vora A, et al.Practical consensus recommendations on duration of adjuvant hormonal therapy in breast cancer.South Asian J Cancer. 2018;7(2):142–145. doi:10.4103/sajc.sajc_122_18
Wang L, Zhang S, Wang X.The metabolic mechanisms of breast cancer metastasis.Front Oncol. 2021;10:602416. doi:10.3389/fonc.2020.602416
Sopik V, Nofech-Mozes S, Sun P, Narod SA.The relationship between local recurrence and death in early-stage breast cancer.Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2016;155(1):175-85. doi:10.1007/s10549-015-3666-y
Carlson RW. Chapter 67: Surveillance of patients following primary therapy. In Harris JR, Lippman ME, Morrow M, Osborne CK.Diseases of the Breast, 5th edition. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2014.
Urquhart R, Lethbridge L, Porter GA.Patterns of cancer centre follow-up care for survivors of breast, colorectal, gynecologic, and prostate cancer.Curr Oncol. 2017;24(6):360–366. doi:10.3747/co.24.3627
Su JA, Yeh DC, Chang CC, et al.Depression and family support in breast cancer patients.Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2017;13:2389–2396. doi:10.2147/NDT.S135624
Hagan TL, Medberry E.Patient Education vs. Patient Experiences of Self-advocacy: Changing the Discourse to Support Cancer Survivors.J Cancer Educ. 2016;31(2):375–381. doi:10.1007/s13187-015-0828-x
Scharl A, Kühn T, Papathemelis T, Salterberg A.The right treatment for the right patient - Personalised treatment of breast cancer.Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd. 2015;75(7):683–691. doi:10.1055/s-0035-1546270
National Cancer Institute (US).Breast Cancer Treatment (Adult) (PDQ®). PDQ Cancer Information Summaries [Internet].
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.Cookies SettingsAccept All Cookies
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies SettingsAccept All Cookies
