What you need to know about the different stages of breast cancer
Stages of breast cancer are determined by characteristics such as how large it is and whether or not it has hormone receptors.
POLOKWANE – While it is not easy accepting that you have just been diagnosed with breast cancer, knowing what stage you are in helps both you and your doctor figure out your prognosis, decide on the best treatment options and determine if certain clinical trials may be a good option for you.
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Stages of breast cancer are determined by characteristics such as how large it is and whether or not it has hormone receptors.
Review spoke to oncology sister, Petro Grobler about the different stages of breast cancer.
“Having stage 1 and 2 breast cancer means you have early-stage localized breast cancer.”
• Generally, stage 1 means the tumour is less than 2cm.
• Stage 2 means it has spread to the axillary lymph nodes or a tumour size bigger than 2cm but smaller than 5cm.
• Stage 3 breast cancer is also called advanced breast cancer. “The tumours are large, bigger than 5cm across. There can be extensive axillary nodal involvement with more than 10 lymph nodes with cancer, nodal involvement with both axillary and internal mammary nodes, meaning the nodes behind the ribs of the breast with cancer. There can also be nodal involvement of the soft tissues above or below the collarbone,” she explained. As soon as a tumour extends to underlying muscles of the chest wall or the overlying skin, it is also stage 3.
“If breast cancer is inflammatory, rapidly growing that makes the breast appears red and swollen, it is stage 3 even if the tumour is small and does not involve lymph nodes.”
Now that you know the stages, it’s important to know what treatment is available.
“Patients with stage 1 and 2 breast cancers are treated similarly, with few exceptions. There are two surgical options available to treat localised breast cancer namely a mastectomy, the removal of the breast, or breast-conserving surgery which means the removal of the cancerous tissue. It is also called a lumpectomy.”
Radiation therapy to the chest wall and surrounding lymph node areas might be recommended for patients who have had a mastectomy. There are factors like positive lymph nodes and large tumours that will involve the decision.
Adjuvant therapy is a systemic or body-wide anti-cancer treatment given before surgery. The work of this therapy is to eliminate or prevent the growth of any cancer cells that might have escaped the breast and now grow in other organs.
