Lung cancer metastasis to breast with an external lump / tumour.

My mum has palliative lung cancer and over the past few days a golf ball size lump appeared. I managed to get an apt atbthe breast clinic as she was under their care for a separate issue and had a coincidental apt lined up which I brought forward. They've completed a biopsy ultrasound and believe on balance but subject to biopsy, this is from the lung cancer. I understand this is relatively rare as a process of metastasis, for lung cancer to spread to breast.

My question is what is likely to happen next once confirmed it is lung related? It appears there are very limited low impact treatment options and she's already had palliative radio therapy which impacted her greatly, so this won't likely be an option for her.

Can they operate? What side effects could this cause? Do more normally appear? 

Thanks in advance. 

  • Hello and thanks for posting,

    I can appreciate that you want to find out more about this. 

    Unfortunately, this is an uncommon situation as you said. I think it is likely that her doctors will discuss her case further. Any treatments will have to be weighed up in terms of benefit and potential side effects. It is unlikely that surgery would be an option. There is a chance that further lumps could appear, but that is hard to know. They may be able to use radiotherapy again near the area of the current lump, but I am not sure. Sometimes oral chemotherapy/immunotherapy medications can be used to treat, but this depends on the type of lung cancer and if it has certain genetic mutations, that means that specific drugs would work.

    I am sorry that we can't be more specific, and hope that you get to find out more soon,

    Best wishes,

    Vanda