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Breast cancer affects both men and women. Each year in the United States, there are more than 310,000 new cases in women and 2,600 in men. If you or your loved one was diagnosed with breast cancer, you may have experienced a long and difficult pathway through rounds of testing and different types of therapies.
The disease can be brought into remission—when signs or symptoms decrease or disappear—if caught early enough and if it responds well to treatment. There are two types of remission: partial and complete. With partial remission, some signs and symptoms disappear. With complete remission, all signs disappear but the cancer can remain in the body.
If cancer goes into remission, you might be eager to get back to your usual life and move past the cancer. But with any cancer, there is always a risk the disease can return. Here are some factors that can increase your chances of breast cancer recurrence, plus tips for lowering your recurrence risk when possible.
Sources: National Cancer Institute. Breast Cancer... + 11
- National Cancer Institute. Breast Cancer Recurrence. December 2, 2025.
- American Cancer Society. Annual Cancer Facts & Figures 2023-2026. Accessed November 3, 2026.
- National Cancer Institute. Definition of Remission. Accessed November 3, 2026.
- National Cancer Institute. Life After Cancer Treatment. April 1, 2025.
- American Cancer Society. Follow-up Care After Cancer Treatment. October 1, 2025.
- Susan G. Komen. Social Support and Breast Cancer Survival. 2021.
- National Breast Cancer Foundation. When You Need Someone Who “Gets It”: The Importance of Emotional Support During Breast Cancer. April 28, 2025.
- Mayo Clinic. Recurrent Breast Cancer. July 21, 2026.
- American Cancer Society. Weight Changes. February 3, 2026.
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Controlling Weight Gain During Breast Cancer, Including New Research Into Ozempic and Related Weight-Loss Drugs. August 12, 2025.
- American Cancer Society. Can I Lower My Risk of Breast Cancer Progressing or Coming Back? July 17, 2026.
- American Cancer Society. Cancer Recurrence. October 21, 2025.










