Photo by Anna Shvets HUNTSVILLE LIVING | OCTOBER 2024 | 19
lymph nodes . The ACS also reports a 99 percent five-year survival rate for patients diagnosed with stage I breast cancer .
STAGE II
A stage II breast cancer diagnosis indicates the tumor is at least 20 millimeters ( about the size of a stage IA tumor ) and potentially as large as 50 millimeters . The tumor also can be larger than 50 millimeters if no lymph nodes are affected ( stage IIB ). The ACS notes the size of the tumor may indicate if the cancer is stage IIA or stage II B . The MSKCC notes that a stage IIA diagnosis could indicate there is no tumor or there is a tumor up to 20 millimeters and the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm . A tumor determined to be between 20 and 50 millimeters that has not spread to the lymph nodes also indicates a stage IIA diagnosis . A stage IIB diagnosis indicates the tumor in the breast is between 20 and 50 millimeters and has spread to between one and three nearby lymph nodes . According to Cancer Research UK , the fiveyear survival rate for stage II breast cancer is around 90 percent .
STAGE III
Stage III breast cancer is considered regional , which the ACS reports notes had a roughly 86 percent survival rate between 2013 and 2019 . The MSKCC notes that a stage III diagnosis indicates the tumor is larger than 50 millimeters and has affected lymph nodes across a wider region than in less developed stages of the disease . Cancers that have reached stage III may be categorized as stage IIIA , stage IIIB or stage IIIC . The American College of Surgeons reports that stage IIIA indicates a tumor of any size that has spread to between four and nine lymph nodes or a tumor larger than five centimeters that has spread to between one and three lymph nodes . Stage IIIB indicates any size tumor and that the cancer has spready to the chest wall . A stage IIIC diagnosis indicates the tumor can be any size and has spread to 10 or more lymph nodes .
STAGE IV
Stage IV is the most advanced form of breast cancer . If the cancer has reached stage IV , that indicates the tumor can be any size and has spread beyond the breast to other parts of the body , potentially including organs and tissues . The ACS reports that survival rate for this stage , which is considered distant , is 31 percent . However , the breast cancer advocacy organization Susan G . Komen notes that only around 6 percent of breast cancer diagnoses in women diagnosed for the first time have reached stage IV at the time of diagnosis .
Staging makes it easier to understand a breast cancer diagnosis . More information about breast cancer staging is available at mskcc . org and cancer . org .
Photo by Anna Shvets HUNTSVILLE LIVING | OCTOBER 2024 | 19