Skip to main content

Staging and grading for breast cancer



Once a definite diagnosis of cancer has been made and your healthcare team has the information it needs, the cancer will be given a stage and a grade.
The cancer stage describes the tumour size and tells whether it has spread beyond the place where it started to grow.
In the earliest stage of breast cancer, cancer cells are found only in the milk ducts or lobules. This is called in situ cancer. If in situ cancer is diagnosed before the cells have spread to the surrounding tissue, there is no risk of them spreading after they have been removed.
When breast cancer spreads out of the duct or lobule, it is called invasive cancer. It can still be treated effectively if diagnosed early.
For breast cancer, there are five stages.
Stage
Description
0
There are two kinds of stage 0 breast cancer:
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS): Abnormal cells are in the lining of a milk duct and have not spread outside the duct.
Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS): Abnormal cells are in the lining of a lobule.
1
Tumour is 2 cm or smaller and the cancer has not spread outside the breast.
2
Tumour is 2 to 5 cm, or cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, or both.
3
Cancer has spread to the lymph nodes and may have spread to nearby tissues such as the muscle or skin.
4
Cancer has spread to distant parts of the body.
To find out the grade of a tumour, the biopsy sample is examined under a microscope. A grade is given based on how the cancer cells look and behave compared with normal cells. This can give your healthcare team an idea of how quickly the cancer may be growing. There are three grades.
Grade
Description
1
Low grade – slow growing, less likely to spread
2
Moderate grade
3
High grade – tend to grow quickly, more likely to spread
It is important to know the stage and grade of the cancer. This information helps you and your healthcare team choose the best treatment for you.
#iamstillawoman #cancerstaging #cancergrading #awareness 

Comments

  1. charlieoliver26 April 2012 at 11:11

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nina-ann McCurley26 April 2012 at 18:19

      This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Hard nipples" - areola or nipple skin

Someone once wrote"... when i get really cold, or get goosebumbs all over my body, the whole things really scrunch up, like, my entire areola scrunches itself up into a wrinkled little mound. it looks really weird and ugly, and i haven't ever seen other people's breasts do it. what is wrong with my areola/nipples??" The answer: Well nothing is wrong. This is what my areola does too. It's a normal reaction to the coldness or to irritation / stimulation. The little muscles in the areola do a similar goosebump thing as your other skin can do. People often call this phenomenon "hard nipples". Also note that skin on areola has less feeling or sensation to it than other areas of your body. If the areola was very sensitive, then breastfeeding would probably be quite uncomfortable because the baby pulls and tugs it! The nipples are sensitive but the sensitivity changes with hormonal changes, such as occur at mestrual cycle or pregnancy. Also this v...
8 comments
Read more

Kate Jackson Breast Cancer a flash back

THE MOST MOMENTOUS CHANGE IN Kate Jackson's life began early one morning in January 1987, during her fourth season on the hit TV series Scarecrow and Mrs. King. After a phone call informed her that the show's taping was canceled because costar Bruce Boxleitner had the flu, Jackson went back to sleep. When she woke several hours later, "It was out of the blue, but perfectly clear," she recalls. "I sat up in bed and literally said, 'You have to have a mammogram.' " She did, and two days later a biopsy confirmed her vague fears: A minute growth found in her left breast was determined to be malignant. "I was forced to face, squared up, my own mortality," says Jackson. "I had to decide whether I wanted to live or to die. And if you choose life, as I did, it's never the same." For three TV seasons 16 years ago, she was famous as Sabrina Duncan, a girl-next-door gone glamorous and the character critics dubbed the brainiest o...
Post a Comment
Read more

The four stages of breast development

In Stage 1 shows the flat breasts of childhood. By Stage 2, breast buds are formed as milk ducts and fat tissue develop. In Stage 3, the breast become round and full, and the areola darkens. Stage 4 shows fully mature breasts. (Illustration by GGS Information Services.) period begins. Usually these signs are accompanied by the appearance of pubic hair and hair under the arms. Once ovulation and  menstruation  begin, the maturing of the breasts begins with the formation of secretory glands at the end of the milk ducts. The breasts and duct system continue to grow and mature with the development of many glands and lobules. The rate at which breasts grow varies significantly and is different for each young woman. Breast development occurs in five stages: Stage One: In preadolescence, the breasts are flat and only the tip of the nipple is raised. Stage Two: Buds appear, breast and nipple are raised, fat tissue begins to form and the areola (dark area of skin that ...
1 comment
Read more