Breast cancer is one of those illnesses that has many stages to it. Not only does it have many stages, but it also has many misconceptions about it and how it works. If you are living with breast cancer, it’s easy to assume the worst-case scenario because of how frightening this sickness can be. Not only are there different stages of breast cancer, but there are many different names for certain breast cancers as well as certain causes and treatments. Since breast cancer, in itself is so vast, there’s no question as to why there are so many myths that circle around by word of mouth and through articles that can cause someone living with it a real scare. This is why it’s important to understand what the facts and myths are of breast cancer.
The Five Stages Of Breast Cancer
Classifying breast cancer in stages helps determine the best method of treatment and whether or not there is a chance to cure it. During breast cancer staging, you will find out how far the cancer has progressed. There are five different stages ranging from 0 to 4 in roman numerals. 0 being where the cancer is contained within the milk ducts and is noninvasive and 4 being metastasized breast cancer.
A doctor will determine what stage the breast cancer is based on the size of the tumor. A doctor will also check to see if the cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body, how aggressive the cancer cells appear to be when placed under a microscope, or if the cancer cells have a gene mutation to identify which stage of breast cancer it has developed to.
Stage 0 is noninvasive breast cancer meaning there is no evidence of cancer cells or non-cancerous abnormal cells.
Stage 1 is invasive cancer where the cancer cells invade the surrounding breast tissue. This stage is usually classified into two subcategories 1A and 1B.
Stage 2 is invasive cancer where no cancer is found in the breast but instead found in the lymph nodes under the arm or the lymph nodes under the breast bone.
Stage 3 breast cancer is invasive cancer where the cancer has spread to one or three axillary lymph nodes and is larger than 5cm.
Stage 4 is an invasive breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body (metastasized) such as the lungs, liver or brain.
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