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Stages
of Breast Cancer
Many newly diagnosed breast
cancer patients and their family and friends search the Internet for
understandable, concise information about their diagnosis. When Comfort Wigs,
ETC finds this type of info, we try to include it in our site. We hope this will
be of some value.
Stages of breast cancer,
according to the American Cancer Society, indicate the size of the tumor and how
far it has spread within the breast, to nearby tissue, and to other organs.
Specific treatment is most often determined by the following stages of the
disease:
Carcinoma in situ: Cancer is confined to the lobules (milk producing
glands) or ducts (passages connecting the milk-producing glands to the nipple)
and has not invaded the nearby tissue.
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Stage I. Tumor is smaller than or equal to 2 centimeters
(not quite 1 inch") in
diameter and underarm (auxiliary) lymph nodes test negative for cancer.
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Stage II. Tumor is between 2 and 5 centimeters
(not quite 1 in" 2 in") in diameter
with or without positive lymph nodes, or tumor is greater than 5 centimeters (2
in")
without positive lymph nodes.
- Stage III. This stage is divided into sub stages known as
IIIA and IIIB:
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Stage IIIA. Tumor is larger than 5 centimeters
(2 in") with positive removable lymph
nodes, or tumor is any size with lymph nodes that adhere to one another or
surrounding tissue.
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Stage IIIB. Tumor is any size
that has spread to the skin, chest wall, or internal mammory lymph nodes
(located beneath the breast or inside the chest).
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Stage IV. Tumor, regardless of size,
has metastasized (spread) to distant sites such as lungs, bones, or lymph nodes
not near the breast.
Recurrent breast cancer: The disease has returned in spite of
initial treatment.
There is actually a Stage 0,
these noninvasive breast cancers have not yet developed the ability to spread
beyond the breast. These cancers were rarely detected 20 tears ago, but more
women are going for their annual mammograms and detect the early calcium
'specks', called microcalcifications, in the milk ducts. This early detections
now account for 20 to 25% of newly diagnosed breast cancers.
The classifications of breast cancers by stage is very important in
assessing how the patient will do in the long-term, and is a factor in
determining the proper treatment for each individual. If a patient has Stage II
breast cancer, a combination therapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy is
considered more frequently than Stage 0 or I.
Stage II
involves the breast and the area of the lymph nodes.
Stage
III is a larger tumor and involves a greater number of lymph nodes, and treated
more aggressively and for a longer time.
Stage IV
is metastatic disease that has spread to other organs. The treatment is very
aggressive and type of treatment depends on where the disease has spread.
More and more women are having
mammograms regularly and the cancers diagnosed are smaller and treatment options
are largest, so the survivability is greater.
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