DMochelle Fashions Magazine
September/October 2017
In stage IIIB breast cancer, the tumor may be any size, and the cancer:
Has spread to the chest wall and/or skin of the breast, and
May have spread to axillary lymph nodes that may be attached to each other or to
other structures, or cancer may have spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone.
Cancer that has spread to the skin of the breast is inflammatory breast cancer.
In stage IIIC breast cancer:
There may be no sign of cancer in the breast or the tumor may be any size, and
may have spread to the chest wall and/or skin of the breast.
Cancer cells are present in lymph nodes above or below the collarbone
Cancer cells may have spread to axillary lymph nodes or lymph nodes near the
breastbone.
Cancer that has spread to the skin of the breast is inflammatory breast cancer.
Stage IIIC breast cancer may be operable or inoperable:
In operable stage IIIC: cancer is found in 10 or more axillary lymph nodes, or is
in lymph nodes below the collarbone, or is in axillary lymph nodes and lymph
nodes near the breastbone
In inoperable stage IIIC: cancer has spread to the lymph nodes above the
collarbone
The survival rate for stage IIIA breast cancer may be slightly higher than for
stage 3B, and the survival rate for stage IIIB may be slightly higher than for stage
IIIC. However all women diagnosed with stage III breast cancer have several
promising treatment options.
TNM
At stage III, TNM designations help describe the extent of the disease. Higher
numbers indicate more extensive disease. Most commonly, stage III breast cancer
is described as:
T: T1, T2, T3 or T4, depending on the size and/or extent of the primary tumor.
N1: Cancer has spread to the lymph nodes
M0: The disease has not spread to other sites in the body
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