A breast cancer diagnosis raises many concerns, including what stage your cancer is. Millions of women face similar questions: According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most frequent cancer among women. One-third of new female malignancies are caused by it.
Your doctor will use diagnostic tests to stage your breast cancer after a diagnosis. Knowing your cancer stage helps you choose the best therapy and predict your survival chances.
Physicians utilize the AJCC TNM method to stage breast cancer. T stands for tumor size, N for lymph node involvement, and M for body spread. Each factor is described by numbers or letters following T, N, and M. Advanced cancer has higher numbers.
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Stages Of Breast Cancer
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) classifies breast cancer stages as 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. Expert advice and five-year relative survival rates at each stage are below.
Stage 0 Breast Cancer
Stage zero (0) breast cancer is also known as noninvasive or in situ cancer and occurs solely in the breast’s milk ducts (Tis, N0, M0).
In stage 0 of breast cancer, almost all patients survive (99%).
Stage 1 Breast Cancer
Lymph node metastasis (Stage IB): tumor size is more than 0.2 mm but less than 2 mm. A breast tumor is either absent or less than 20 millimeters in size (T0 or T1, N1mi, M0).
The five-year survival rate for women with stage I breast cancer ranges from 86% (Stage IB) to 99.6%. (Stage IA).
Stage 2 Breast Cancer
Stage IIA:
- Despite no breast tumor, the malignancy has progressed to 1–3 axillary (underarm) lymph nodes. Cancer has not spread (T0, N1, M0).
- A breast tumor of 20 mm or less and malignancy in 1 to 3 axillary lymph nodes (T1, N1, M0).
- The tumor is bigger than 20 mm but less than 50 mm and has not migrated to the axillary lymph nodes (T2, N0, M0).
Stage IIB:
- The tumor is 20–50 mm. 1–3 axillary lymph nodes contain it (T2, N1, M0).
- No axillary lymph nodes are detected in the 50-mm tumor (T3, N0, M0).
The five-year survival rate for stage 2 breast cancer varies from 86% to 99.9%, depending on whether or not the disease has