Have fewest side effects, or have more manageable side effects
Your oncologist will discuss potential treatment options with you. They will explain the risks and benefits of each drug, so you can plan your treatment together. It is common to have a sequence of different treatments for secondary breast cancer.
You will receive each drug for as long as it works well. At the point when your cancer begins to grow again despite treatment, your oncologist will recommend swapping to a different drug.
Select the type of breast cance you have from the tabs to see a summary of the anticancer drugs that might be suitable for you.
If you don’t know which type of breast cancer you have, you can check this with your oncologist, clinical nurse specialist or another member of your treatment team. You can also browse through, but be aware that not all treatments may be suitable for you.
Hormone-positive (or hormone-receptor positive) cancers are encouraged to grow by natural hormones in your body. Hormone therapies aim to stop the cancer growing.
Many people with hormone-positive (ER+) secondary breast cancer are treated with a hormone therapy first. This is because hormone therapies tend to work well but have fewer side effects.
Some women also have treatment to stop their ovaries producing hormones – this is called ovarian suppression.
If your cancer is making you extremely unwell and you need a treatment that will act especially quickly, your oncologist may recommend you have chemotherapy first.
If your cancer continues to grow while you’re taking a hormone therapy, you may be offered a treatment called everolimus (Afinitor) to help your hormone therapy continue to work. Fulvestrant (Faslodex) can also be used to treat cancers which continue to grow on hormone therapy. Fulvestrant (Faslodex) is currently only available as standard on the NHS in Scotland, but your oncologist may be able to request a prescription for you. See our section on access to anticancer drugs for more information.
If your cancer continues to grow while you’re taking a hormone therapy, you may be offered a treatment called everolimus (Afinitor) to help your hormone therapy continue to work. Fulvestrant (Faslodex) can also be used to treat cancers which continue to grow on hormone therapy. Fulvestrant (Faslodex) is currently only available as standard on the NHS in Scotland, but your oncologist may be able to request a prescription for you. See our section on access to anticancer drugs for more information.
If your cancer continues to grow while you’re taking a hormone therapy, you may be offered a treatment called everolimus (Afinitor) to help your hormone therapy continue to work. Fulvestrant (Faslodex) can also be used to treat cancers which continue to grow on hormone therapy, but it is currently only available as standard on the NHS in Scotland. For information on how your oncologist may be able to request a prescription of these drugs for you, see our section on access to anticancer drugs for more information.
If your cancer continues to grow while you’re taking a hormone therapy, you may be offered a treatment called everolimus (Afinitor) to help your hormone therapy continue to work. Fulvestrant (Faslodex) can also be used to treat cancers which continue to grow on hormone therapy.
If in the future, your cancer begins to grow despite your treatment, your oncologist will recommend trying a different hormone therapy or chemotherapy.
To begin, you’re likely to be offered the biological therapy trastuzumab (Herceptin). This works by targeting the HER2 receptors of your cancer cells. It is common for this to be given alongside a chemotherapy drug.
Other treatments sometimes used to treat HER2+ secondary breast cancer include trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla) and pertuzumab (Perjeta). Perjeta is not currently available on the NHS in Scotland, but your oncologist may be able to request a prescription for you. See our section on access to anticancer drugs for more information.
Other treatments sometimes used to treat HER2+ secondary breast cancer include pertuzumab (Perjeta) and trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla).
Other treatments sometimes used to treat HER2+ secondary breast cancer include pertuzumab (Perjeta) and trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla).
Treatments for both hormone positive and HER positive
To begin, you’re likely to be offered a biological therapy called trastuzumab, which targets the HER2 receptors on your cancer cells. This is usually used alongside chemotherapy.
Other treatments you may be offered include chemotherapy or hormone therapy (such as a type of drug called an aromatase inhibitor or a drug called tamoxifen).
Some women also have treatment to stop their ovaries producing hormones – this is called ovarian suppression.
The order that you receive these drugs in will be tailored to you, and you might be given more than one at a time.
If your cancer is triple negative, you’re likely to be offered chemotherapy. It is common for people to begin on a type of chemotherapy called an anthracycline (e.g. doxorubicin or epirubicin) or a taxane (e.g. docetaxel or paclitaxel).
If in the future your cancer begins to grow again, there are other chemotherapies you may be offered, including carboplatin, capecitabine, vinorelbine or gemcitabine.
Eribulin (Halaven) is another drug sometimes used to treat triple negative breast cancer.
Eribulin (Halaven) is another drug sometimes used to treat triple negative breast cancer.
Eribulin (Halaven) is another drug sometimes used to treat triple negative breast cancer.
Eribulin (Halaven) is another drug sometimes used to treat triple negative breast cancer. Eribulin (Halaven) is currently only available as standard on the NHS in England, Scotland, and Wales, but your oncologist may be able to request a prescription for you. See our section on access to anticancer drugs for more information.
Information last reviewed: January 2017
