You have a risk of having metastatic or recurrent breast cancer if you have ever had breast cancer. Although the exact cause of breast cancer is not known, older women have the highest risk.⁴

Recurrent breast cancer

Breast cancer recurs in less than a third of all women after the initial diagnosis. Recurrence is highest in the first 5 years after treatment but can occur at any time.^{1, 5} The recurrence of breast cancer depends on many factors. No one can predict who will have recurrent breast cancer, but information about your breast cancer-such as the stage, how it looks under the microscope (classification), whether you had positive lymph nodes, and whether you have hormone receptors-can help predict how you will respond to treatment.

Metastatic breast cancer

Metastatic breast cancer doesn't usually show up until many months to years after the initial diagnosis of breast cancer. In a very small number of women, breast cancer has already traveled to another part of the body by the time the cancer is diagnosed.¹