All the World’s a Stage

All kinds of cancer, including breast cancer, are categorized by stage, which generally
indicates how far it has spread, which in turn determines treatment. The higher the
stage, the more aggressive the treatment. So find out at what stage the pathologist
has categorized your cancer. The report may use one of two staging systems, or even
a combination. Here’s a summary of them and what they mean:
The first staging system uses Roman numerals from I through IV, but begins with
Stage 0:
➤ Stage 0: pre-cancerous (in situ) conditions
➤ Stage I: small, localized cancers, usually curable
➤ Stage II: small tumor with positive lymph nodes, or a larger tumor with or with-
out positive lymph nodes
➤ Stage III: large tumor with positive lymph nodes
➤ Stage IV: tumor with obvious metastasis
Another kind of staging uses TNM, referring to Tumor, Nodes, and Metastases. In gen-
eral, here’s what it means:
➤ T refers to the size of the tumor, from T0 through T4, with T0 for in situ condi-
tions and T4 for a very large tumor that has invaded other organs.
➤ N refers to the number of lymph nodes involved, with N0 meaning no positive
nodes and N4 meaning extensive node involvement.
➤ M refers to the amount of metastases, from M0 to M4.