Thought to be liver tumor, turned out to be metastatic breast cancer

Hanoi Woman, 67 years old, right hypochondriac abdominal pain, weight loss, doctor diagnosed stage 4 breast cancer with liver metastasis.

The patient felt pain and discomfort in the left chest area for a year but did not go to the doctor and hid it from her family. In the past two weeks, she had severe pain in the right hypochondrium, lost weight, went to the hospital for examination, ultrasound discovered liver damage, thought to be a tumor.

The patient went to the Nuclear Medicine and Oncology Center, Bach Mai Hospital, for a re-examination. On June 7, Dr. Pham Cam Phuong, Director of the Center, said that the tumor in the left breast was 5x6 cm in size, bleeding, oozing fluid along with a few small lesions. The patient had inflammation, redness of the surrounding skin and many axillary lymph nodes on both sides. The doctor diagnosed stage 4 breast cancer with liver metastasis, which was the cause of the pain in the right lower rib.

According to Dr. Phuong, this case is very unfortunate because the abnormality was detected early but the disease was hidden. "If the patient had gone to the doctor early, the tumor would not have ulcerated, leaked fluid, or metastasized, and the patient's life would have been more assured," the doctor said.

Mammogram image. Photo: Provided by the hospital — Mammogram image. Photo: *Provided by the hospital*

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. In Vietnam, breast cancer accounts for nearly 26% of cancer cases in women, with more than 21,000 new cases detected each year and more than 9,000 deaths.

Breast cancer can be completely cured if detected early, treated promptly and with the right method. The earlier it is detected, the simpler the treatment, the higher the cure rate and the lower the cost of treatment. According to doctors, when the disease is still localized in the mammary gland, the patient's 5-year survival rate after treatment is up to 99%. When cancer spreads outside the mammary gland, to the lymph nodes and surrounding tissues, this rate drops to 86%. When cancer has metastasized to other organs such as the lungs, liver, and bones, this rate is only 30%.

Breast cancer treatment has made great strides in recent years, including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, combined with hormonal therapy and biological therapy (targeted therapy). However, the key factor is still early detection of the disease.

Doctors recommend screening and early detection of breast cancer is very important. Regular health check-ups and screening to detect the disease early, thereby helping to improve treatment effectiveness and reduce costs.

Minh An

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