stages of cancer

Outlook: Your recovery will depend in part on how early the cancer is found. Tumor (T): "T" followed by a number from 0-4 tells you how large the tumor is and sometimes where it's located. 3. Doctors combine the T, N, M results and other factors specific to the cancer to determine the stage of cancer for each person. It may have started to spread into surrounding tissues and there are cancer cells in the lymph nodes nearby. Grade IV brain and spinal cancers are considered very aggressive and fast-growing. Size in centimetres and millimetres. Sometimes doctors aren't sure if a cancer has spread to another part of the body or not. A local treatment treats only an area of the body. Below is an example of one common method of staging: stage 0 – indicates that the cancer is where it started (in situ) and hasn't spread ; stage I – the cancer is small and hasn't spread anywhere else ; stage II – the cancer has grown, but hasn't spread Stage I means the cancer is small and only in one area. Stage IV means the cancer has spread to other parts of your body. But it isn't always possible to tell if they have gone anywhere else. Those broad groups are based on a much more detailed system that includes specific information about the tumor and how it affects the rest of your body. Sometimes stages are subdivided as well, using capital letters (for example, stage III might be subdivided into stages IIIA and IIIB). This can be different from the clinical stage, and it's considered more accurate. There is a buildup of abnormal cells in the breast lobules. But they all tell you how advanced the cancer is. It means that doctors based the staging on examining cancer cells in the lab after surgery to remove a cancer. Examples of cancers with different staging systems include brain and spinal cord tumors and blood cancers. WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. But tests used in cancer screening programmes can pick up carcinomas in situ in the breast or the neck of the womb (cervix). Most types of cancer have 4 stages, numbered from 1 to 4. This means the cancer is still only in the layer of cells where it first started, and it has not spread any farther. Breast Cancer Stages. Stage 1 means a small tumor spread to nearby tissue. It is seldom detected in its early stages. Smart Grocery Shopping When You Have Diabetes, Surprising Things You Didn't Know About Dogs and Cats, Coronavirus in Context: Interviews With Experts, Sign Up to Receive Our Free Coroanvirus Newsletter, Newly Diagnosed With Cancer - Stages of Cancer, Liver Cancer: Symptoms, Tests, and Treatments, Understanding Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment, Treatment: It helps your doctor decide which treatment will work best. Stages of cancer of the lip and oral cavity. These are glands that filter things like viruses and bacteria before they can infect other parts of your body. Because these areas of abnormal cells are still so small they are usually not found unless they are somewhere easy to spot, for example in the skin. A higher number means the cancer is in more lymph nodes, farther away from the original tumor. Metastasis (M): "M" is followed by either 0 or 1. Stage 4 means the cancer has spread from where it started to another body organ. Stage refers to the extent of your cancer, such as how large the tumor is, and if it has spread. This stands for clinical stage. There are five stages of throat cancer, starting at zero and going up to four. For example, a number system is used for some cancers. So for example a small cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes but not to anywhere else in the body may be T2 N1 M0. Some doctors or researchers call these cell changes 'precancerous changes' or 'non invasive cancer'. © 2005 - 2019 WebMD LLC. For patients with an advanced cancer diagnosis, doctors now have new treatment options. That information is added to your test results to determine the pathologic stage, or surgical stage. Stages of Cancer. Genetics: The DNA of the cancer cells can tell your doctor if it's likely to spread and what treatment may work. Call NCI's Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237) for information about clinical trials of supportive and palliative care. It means that there is a group of abnormal cells in an area of the body. Here is a brief summary of what the stages mean for most types of cancer: Stage 1 usually means that a cancer is small and contained within the organ it … Research: Most hospitals work with a national database that keeps track of which treatments are used and how well they work. Doctors suggest adjuvant treatment if you have cancer cells in the lymph nodes. That's when cancer cells are gone. A physical exam and several tests are used to determine your clinical stage -- an estimate of how far the cancer has spread. Stages of cancer. 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