The Stages of Breast Cancer

by Lillie Shockney, R.N., M.A.S.

When a breast tumor is found, one of the first things the oncologist must determine is its stage--that is, how far along it is in its development. Knowing this information is vital to deciding how the tumor should be treated.

The stage of a tumor is determined by:

* its diameter
* how many (if any) lymph nodes in the armpit (axillary area) contain cancer
* whether the cancer has spread beyond the breast to other organs in the body

The difference between clinical stage and pathological stage

When an oncologist refers to a tumor's clinical stage, this means that he or she has reviewed imaging studies of the cancer and examined the patient in order to make an educated guess at how far along a tumor is. If, on the other hand, a doctor refers to the pathological stage of a tumor, then the tumor has been surgically removed along with one or more lymph nodes, and its diameter and extent of disease has been measured using a microscope.

Tumor size matters plenty

It's probably no surprise that smaller tumors are considered to be at an earlier stage of growth than larger ones, and are often called early-diagnosis or early-stage disease. Two other terms doctors use to indicate that a breast tumor is small, or of lesser severity, are "stage I" and "stage II." For the most part, these are both considered to be early stages. Lumpectomy is achievable for most patients today who have stage-I or stage-II breast cancer.

Large tumors, or ones that have been aggressive and traveled up into the lymph nodes, are regarded as higher-stage breast cancers, sometimes called "locally advanced" or "stage-III" disease. A tumor this size might require mastectomy surgery to get clear margins around it, and many nodes may also have to be removed from the armpit area.

In another blog, I will discuss how oncologists predict which treatment will work most successfully for a particular breast cancer. They base their decision on what type of breast cancer a tumor is and how far its developmental stage has progressed.

source: yahoo health