What Is HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer?

glamour.com:

: Realizing just how many types—and subtypes—of breast cancer exist. If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with (sometimes referred to using the code-like abbreviation “HER2+ MBC”) the name alone is a lot to process.To break it down: The first part, HER2, stands for “human epidermal growth factor receptor 2.” This refers to a protein found on the surface of breast cells that helps direct how quickly those cells grow and divide.

Having HER2-positive breast cancer (also written as HER2+ breast cancer) indicates that your breast cells contain an elevated amount of this HER2 protein, which can lead those cells to grow and divide too quickly, resulting in tumors/cancer.

Since the symptoms of this type of breast cancer are the same as you’d experience with many other types of breast cancer; a biopsy is the only way to know that you’re HER2-positive; about of breast cancer cases are.Now for the second part of that hefty name: metastatic breast cancer.

An added challenge that comes with a HER2-positive breast cancer diagnosis is that this type of cancer tends to be aggressive and spread quickly.