Teresa Heinz's Form of Cancer Rare but Treatable

The recent revelation by Teresa Heinz, wife of U.S. Senator John Kerry, that she has been diagnosed with early-stage cancer in both of her breasts has likely left many women wondering, "Could this happen to me?"

It could, but it's unlikely. Only about 2% to 5% of all breast cancer cases occur in both breasts at the same time, experts say.

“[It's] not unheard of, because whatever causes breast cancer on one side can act on both breasts," says Nayana Dekhne, MD, the director of the Comprehensive Breast Care Program at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich.

Even if you are one of the few women to experience this type of breast cancer, the scenario isn't always as dire as it sounds. Breast cancer experts are quick to point out that a woman's prognosis is not necessarily worse if she has breast cancer in both breasts, and that the outcomes in such cases are often excellent.

“You are not going to do worse because you have breast cancer in both breasts instead of one," says Marisa Weiss, MD, the director of breast radiation oncology and breast health outreach at Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, Penn. “Your prognosis depends on the side with the most aggressive type of cancer.”

Women can have tumors of different severity—and even different types of tumors—in each breast, Dr. Weiss says. “If you have breast cancers in both breasts at same time, we stage them independently,” she says. “One side can be stage 0 and the other side can be stage 1, or really any variation of the stages of breast cancer.” (Stages describe the extent of the cancer; stage 0 is considered non-invasive, while stage 4 is considered late-stage or invasive.)

In some cases, the severity of the tumors dictates a different treatment for each breast. A woman may opt to have one breast removed, for example, and then undergo a lumpectomy and radiation therapy on the other.

Heinz, 71, the widow of ketchup scion John Heinz (who was also a senator), was diagnosed with a different type of stage 1 cancer in each breast. "I have had two operations and my prognosis for a full recovery is good," she wrote in a December 24 op-ed piece that appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Heinz received her diagnosis in September. Last week she decided to go public with the news to challenge the recent highly controversial recommendation by a federal advisory panel, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, that women of average-risk for breast cancer should begin annual mammograms at age 50 instead of age 40, and should have mammograms every other year thereafter. Heinz's cancer was first detected during a routine mammogram.