What are the stages of breast cancer?
Breast cancer can be divided into different stages depending on the size and spread of the tumor. Cancers that are large and have affected surrounding tissues or organs are at a higher stage than small cancers and are only located in the breast. In order to stage the breast cancer, the doctor should know:
- How large is the tumor
- If the cancer has spread to nearby tissue or organs
- Whether the cancer is invasive or non-invasive
- Whether the lymph nodes are affected
When and how does my doctor determine the stage of my breast cancer?
A doctor will stage cancer based on the tumor size and whether it has spread to lymph nodes or other parts of the body. There are different approaches to treat breast cancer. One way is from stage 0-4, with categories subdivided at each numerated stage. Descriptions of the four main stages are listed below, although a specific cancer substage may also rely on certain particular tumor characteristics, such as HER2 receptor status.
What is stage 0 breast cancer?
This stage is known as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The cells are limited to the ducts and have not invaded surrounding tissues.
What is stage I breast cancer?
The tumor measures up to 2cms at this stage. The lymph nodes are not affected in this stage of cancer.
What is stage II breast cancer?
In this stage, the tumor can be of 2 cm across spreading to nearby nodes, or is 2-5 cm across and has not spread to the lymph nodes
What is stage III breast cancer?
The tumor is up to 5 cm across spreading to several lymph nodes or the tumor is larger than 5 cm and has spread to a few lymph nodes.
What is stage IV breast cancer?
The cancer has spread to distant organs including bones, liver, brain, or lungs
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