Clarifying where I was in my journey helped with reducing my fear.
Staging helps doctors define the extent of how much cancer is in the body and the best way to treat it.
Stage 0 DCIS Survival 100%
This stage is the pre-cancerous stage. Some cells are abnormally shaped but have not invaded other parts of the breast tissue (non-invasive)
Stage I Early-Stage Survival 100%
In this invasive stage cancerous cells have broken through and affected normal breast tissue in a small area confined to the breast. Stage I has two categories.
• Stage IA- The tumor is 20 millimeters and has not spread outside of breast and no lymph nodes (under the arm pit) are affected
• Stage IB-May or may not have a small tumor in the breast and a clusters of cancerous cells are in the lymph nodes
Stage II Localized Survival 99%
This stage of invasive breast cancer also has two categories
• Stage IIA-
◦ The cancerous 20-millimeter tumor may or may not be present. But cancerous cells are in the lymph nodes (under the arm pit)
◦ A 20 to 50-mm tumor and the cancerous cells are not in the lymph nodes
• Stage IIB-
◦ A 20–50-millimeter tumor, the cancerous cells have spread to 1 to 3 axillary (armpit) lymph nodes
◦ The tumor is larger than 50 mm but has not spread to lymph nodes
Stage III Reginal Spread Survival 86%
This stage of aggressive breast cancer has three categories
• Stage IIIA-
◦ The cancerous tumor is 50 mm and spread to 1 to 3 axillary (arm pit) lymph nodes
◦ Any size tumor that has spread to 4 to 9 lymph nodes
• Stage IIIB-
◦ Cancerous cells have spread to the chest wall (tissue protecting the lungs, ribs, muscles, and skin)
◦ The cancer has spread up to 9 lymph nodes to the armpit lymph nodes or breastbone lymph nodes
◦ The cancer has produced swelling in the chest wall or made the skin break down (a painful sore)
• Stage IIIC
◦ The tumor can be any size in the breast or no tumor at all
◦ Cancer cells in 10 or more lymph nodes in the armpit, breast bone, or collar bone
Stage IV-Metastasis Distant Spread 27%
• The cancerous cells have spread (metastasized) to other parts of the body such as the bones, lungs, liver, or brain
• The lymph nodes may or may not have cancer cells
• The tumor can be any size
