my mom has IV stage breast cancer to bone and she has responded to endocrine therapy since 2009.  she stopped responding august 2010 and doctor at md anderson put her on chemo taxol.  this did not work and it seems to be affecting her bone marrow.  she was in hospital for 11 days with fluid in her longs and has to have antibiotics and transfusions.  she is now on endocrine therapy shots and will get zomeda again.  she has a fracture and involvement in her T5 spine and back.  how long can she live?
Hi, Thanks for writing in. Stage 4 cancer usually has a survival for 2 years with good treatment and supportive care. Every cancer patient responds differently to treatment and your mother might require an aggressive treatment to control disease progression. The primary goal of treatment in stage 4 cancer is to provide extension of survival and reduce pain and discomfort. Survival is extended by giving medicines that stabilize the disease process and cause and slow down the disease progress rate. This might be achieved by giving a combination of medicines including repeat endocrine therapy to which she has responded in the past. Please do not worry.