Breast cancer can spread locally as well as to distant body parts. When detected early, breast cancer is usually localised to the breast tissue.  It can grow locally into adjacent tissues, involving the skin, subcutaneous fat, lymph nodes e.t.c. structures. It can spread directly to adjacent lymph nodes, to lymphatics of neck, to another breast,  to the shoulder. Via blood stream and lymphatics,, it can spread to distant body parts like backbone, liver, lungs, bones,  brain, e.t.c. many times it is detected due to the problems caused by its presence in other body parts. For example, chronic unexplained backache, when investigated by various scans,  may reveal presence of breast cancer cells spread there, via blood stream. When breast cancer has spread to other body parts, it is already an advanced cancer and survival rates are about 22 per cent.