Surgery and metastatic breast cancer

Surgery is a less common treatment for people with metastatic breast cancer.

It may be used to:

• prevent or treat a bone fracture
• reduce fluid that has accumulated around the lungs (pleurodesis)
• remove a cancer from the brain.

In some cases, surgery may be recommended to relieve pain. For example, neurosurgery is sometimes recommended for spinal metastases, especially if the nerves that come from the spine are being affected, causing issues with mobility or pain.

Bypass stent procedures may be used to treat blockages – for instance, in the bile duct near the liver or ureter, or the tube that drains urine from the kidney to the bladder.

Whether surgery might be appropriate for you needs to be discussed in detail with your specialists. Factors such as your general health and the risk-versus-benefit of any surgical procedure should be raised in your discussions with your care team.