Helping to Prevent a Breast Cancer Recurrence
- Samantha Harris, who was first diagnosed with breast cancer at age 40 in 2014, recently battled cancer recurrence and underwent a partial mastectomy to remove a small cancerous tumor. She shared her cancer timeline in a video shared on social media this week, in an effort to spread more awareness about the disease.
- While there is some disagreement about the exact age a woman should start getting mammograms, doctors generally agree it should happen in their 40s. The American Cancer Society (ACS) suggests women should begin annual mammogram screenings for breast cancer at age 45 if they are at average risk for breast cancer.
- However, an independent panel of experts called the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) says that women should start getting mammograms every other year at the age of 40, suggesting that this lowered the age for breast cancer screening could save 19% more lives
- SurvivorNet talked with some of the best breast cancer specialists about what patients can do to prevent a recurrence of breast cancer and the top tip is to “follow treatment guidelines and complete the course of treatment” that’s prescribed for you. This means adhering to taking medications prescribed to help avoid recurrence.
- Other tips include maintaining a healthy diet & weight, exercising and limiting alcohol intake.
In addition to sharing what she’s endured through her battle with disease, the 50-year-old mom of two and loving wife, who also has her own podcast titled “Your Healthiest Healthy,” urged those following her to “know your body, check for changes, and take action.”
Read MoreView this post on Instagram
- know your body
- check for changes
- take action
- eat plant-based
- develop stress-busting tools
- maintain good sleep habits
- move your body daily
- NIX the toxins in your beauty routine!”
She then explained how she had a bilateral mastectomy [surgical removal of both breasts] in 2014, pointing out how prior to her initial diagnoses she worked as a co-host on “Dancing With the Stars” and co-host/correspondent for “Entertainment Tonight.”
Harris had surgery in 2014 at the age of 40, with her husband Michael supporting her on her journey. And after battling the disease, she recalled winning her first Emmy Award, as well as changing for the better.
She explained, “Changed a lot. Gained even more energy. Got my certification as a health coach. Hosted a brand new game show. Celebrated 10-years cancer free and 20 years of marriage.”
RELATED: Access To Good Information Is Crucial After a Breast Cancer Diagnosis
However, she then “found a lump again” this summer, meaning she had cancer recurrence.
She ultimately needed “recurrence surgery to remove the (very tiny) tumor” in her breast in August 2024, Harris wrote in the video.
After sharing photos of her husband, daughters, and family pet dog, she admitted she’s now “cherishing” the time spent with her loved ones more than ever, and she’s now “feeling great.”
“I will continue to thrive,” she concluded.
View this post on Instagram
When Harris announced her cancer recurrence news on Instagram in August, she told her followers, “I never thought I would have to share this…again.
“I have some health news that I need to share that I never thought that I would be sharing again in my lifetime. But I have a recurrence of breast cancer. And I feel so fortunate to have been able to guide, support and lead so many of you and I will continue to do so — and I will fight on. And I will be okay.”
RELATED: The Unique Features of Breast Cancer: Deciding the Right Course of Treatment
Harris added, “And I am so grateful for my family and my close friends. And as I lean on them, I reach out to lean on you during this time and I will continue to share more as my treatment plan unravels and … see you soon.”
More on Breast Cancer Screening
- Bi-Annual Mammograms At Age 40 Now Recommended For Most Women, What The New Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines Mean For You
- Black Women May Need To Start Breast Cancer Screening At 42, According To A New Study
- Breast Cancer: Introduction to Prevention & Screening
- The Mammogram Debate: Should Women Start Breast Cancer Screening at 30?
- 6 Common Excuses for Skipping a Mammogram That You Need to Stop Using!
- Mammograms Are Still the Best Tool for Detecting Breast Cancer — A Warning About Thermography
- How to Avoid False Positive Cancer Results in Women With Dense Breasts: Ultrasounds Used in Addition To Mammograms
Harris’ 2014 Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Samantha Harris was first diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2014 despite doctors finding no evidence of the disease on her mammogram.
“It missed the cancer in my right breast,” Harris said on her blog at the time. “Two doctors told me the lump I found 11 days later was ‘nothing.’”
Thankfully, Harris advocated for her health and feeling that something was amiss, felt the need to investigate further to be sure.
“Finally, four months after finding that lump, I went to see a breast cancer specialist (a surgical oncologist), someone whose main job it is to look at breasts all day and specializes in the detection of breast cancer.”
After a follow-up MRI, biopsy, and ultrasound, Harris’ cancer was still not found. But doctors decided to remove some of her breasts for further testing because they could tell “something was not right.”
“We decided to take it out,” she explained. “Thank goodness, because when the pathology from that lumpectomy came back, it was indeed invasive carcinoma, in addition to the less concerning ductal carcinoma in situ.”
She treated her breast cancer with a bilateral mastectomy, also called a double mastectomy, which removes both breasts. After that, she underwent breast reconstructive surgery.
View this post on Instagram
During reconstruction, plastic surgeons can reconstruct your breasts with implants or with your tissue taken from some other place on your body, such as your back, your abdomen, or your inner thigh.
Harris’ cancer did spread to one lymph node, but doctors decided she didn’t need chemotherapy or radiation.
The mother of two was ultimately declared “cancer-free” with close monitoring “for the rest of what doctors tell [her] is sure to be a long, healthy life,” however, and 10 years later, on August 14, she went public with a second breast cancer diagnosis.
The Importance of Breast Cancer Screening
Screening for breast cancer is normally done through a mammogram, which looks for lumps in the breast tissue and signs of cancer.
While there is some disagreement about the exact age a woman should start getting mammograms, doctors generally agree it should happen in their 40s.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) suggests women should begin annual mammogram screenings for breast cancer at age 45 if they are at average risk for breast cancer.
However, an independent panel of experts called the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) now says that women should start getting mammograms every other year at the age of 40, suggesting that this lowered the age for breast cancer screening could save 19% more lives
WATCH: Mammograms are still the best tool for detecting breast cancer.
The ACS also advises:
- Women aged 40-44 have the option to start screening with a mammogram every year
- Women aged 55 and older can switch to a mammogram every other year
- Women aged 55 and older could also choose to continue yearly mammograms
For screening purposes, a woman is considered to be at average risk if she doesn’t have a personal history of breast cancer, a strong family history of breast cancer, a genetic mutation known to increase risk of breast cancer such as a BRCA gene mutation or a medical history including chest radiation therapy before the age of 30.
Experiencing menstruation at an early age (before 12) or having dense breasts can also put you into a high-risk category. If you are at a higher risk for developing breast cancer, you should begin screening earlier.
Don’t delay speaking with your doctor to make sure you are staying on top of your breast health.
How To Reduce the Risk Of A Breast Cancer Recurrence
You beat breast cancer. You battled the beast and are healthy, strong and ready to tackle the rest of your life. But what about breast cancer recurrence?
As triumphant as breast cancer survivors can feel after learning they are cancer free, many worry about recurrence. What are their chances of the cancer returning and what, if anything, can they do to help prevent it from doing so?
While the chance of recurrence varies based on the biology of the tumor, the stage it was when diagnosed and the treatment received, according to the Susan G. Komen organization, “Most people diagnosed with breast cancer will never have a recurrence.” That’s the good news.
“Once a patient has finished his or her active therapy for breast cancer, we will often refer to that time as breast cancer survivorship,” says Dr. Erica Mayer, a breast cancer medical oncologist at Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
“This is a time when patients are still being actively monitored by their treatment team, not only to ensure that they remain healthy and cancer-free in the years ahead, but also making sure that they have recovered from any side effects of their initial treatment, and that they are pursuing healthy behaviors for example, getting regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, and keeping up with all their other routine medical care.”
But recurrence does happen, so it’s important to do everything you can to reduce your risk. Here are some tips:
1. Follow Treatment Guidelines
“The best way to reduce your risk of recurrence with breast cancer is to follow treatment guidelines and complete the course of treatment that’s given,” says Dr. Elisa Port, a surgical oncologist specializing in breast cancer at Mount Sinai, recently sat down with SurvivorNet and offered the following advice.
For example, she says many women have breast cancer that’s hormonally driven, and there are treatments that they give, such as pills like Tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors, to reduce the risk of these hormonally-driven cancers coming back. The issue is that the course of treatment may call for patients to take the pills for 5-10 years. While some have no side effects, others may experience a host of unpleasant side effects, even to the point where they’re severely debilitated and have no quality of life on these medications.
“So the challenge is to work with every individual person to make sure we give her the best chance of getting through these treatments and enjoying the benefits of these treatments, which is the lowest rate of cancer coming back,” Port says.
2. Maintain a Healthy Weight
Maintaining a healthy weight may also reduce the risk.
“We know that obesity or being overweight can increase the risk of cancer recurrence in breast cancer,” Port says. “And so I say, maintaining a healthy body weight, whatever that is for the individual… You know, we talk a lot about healthy body weight, and there’s a very big range of this, but there are certain numbers beyond which, it does affect one’s health. So we try to keep people within a range of a healthy body weight.”
3. Limit Alcohol
Port says the other lifestyle factor that may increase one’s risk of breast cancer recurrence is heavy alcohol intake.
“We say alcohol in moderation is probably fine, which is defined as three to five drinks a week,” Port told SurvivorNet. “More than that can also potentially increase the risk of recurrence. So the big lifestyle factors are healthy body weight and moderate alcohol intake.”
4. Eat a Healthy Diet
She says there’s no one dietary element that you can eat or consume to give you an edge against breast cancer recurrence. It’s not eating more broccoli or eating more blueberries or becoming a vegetarian. She says the fact that sugar feeds cancer is a big myth too. However, everything you eat does contribute to your overall health.
“These things are all really helpful in maintaining an overall healthy well-balanced diet and also to maintain healthy body weight. We know that diets that are heavy in sugar content are also usually unhealthy and can lead to weight issues. So it all really funnels back to maintaining a healthy body weight when it comes to lifestyle factors.”
It’ss Very Important to Connect: A Survivor’s Advice For Getting Through Cancer
5. Exercise
This goes hand-in-hand with maintaining a healthy weight. Dr. Erica Mayer, a breast cancer medical oncologist at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, previously told SurvivorNet, “Once a patient has finished his or her active therapy for breast cancer, we will often refer to that time as breast cancer survivorship.
RELATED: Follow That Fire: Life After Cancer Will be Different, That Doesn’t Have to be a Bad Thing
“This is a time when patients are still being actively monitored by their treatment team, not only to ensure that they remain healthy and cancer-free in the years ahead, but also making sure that they have recovered from any side effects of their initial treatment, and that they are pursuing healthy behaviors for example, getting regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, and keeping up with all their other routine medical care.”
What To Ask Your Doctor
- What is my prescribed regimen to help avoid a breast cancer recurrence?
- Are there steps I can take in my daily life to help avoid a breast cancer recurrence?
- Do you have recommendations for someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy exercise?
- Can you recommend a dietician who can help me with healthy eating tips and maintaining a healthy weight?
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
