• Adjuvant chemotherapy has been shown to prolong the disease-free interval and survival of Stage II
  premenopausal patients with positive axillary lymph nodes . The treatment lasts four to six months in most
  programs.
• There may be some benefit in giving adjuvant chemotherapy to postmenopausal women with positive axillary
  nodes, but the results are less impressive than in premenopausal patients.
• Postmenopausal women whose lymph nodes and hormone receptors are both positive are usually given
  adjuvant tamoxifen therapy, which can be as effective at prolonging disease-free and overall survival as
  chemotherapy is in premenopausal patients. Tamoxifen is given for at least two years. More than two years
  and as long as five years may be more beneficial. Beyond five years, treatment is investigational. Patients
  receiving tamoxifen who have not had a hysterectomy require some observation for potential slight increased
  risk of uterine cancer.
• It may be appropriate to give chemotherapy in postmenopausal patients with positive nodes and negative
  hormone receptors. However, other studies suggest that tamoxifen may be beneficial.
• Patients with negative lymph nodes and larger (T2 or T3) tumors have the same considerations as those with
  Stage I cancers. Both premenopausal and postmenopausal patients benefit, but as is true for Stage I cancers,
  the benefit of hormonal treatment is most significant in women over 50.

Five-Year Survival  66 percent