Breast Cancer Stages are based on:
- Size of the tumor
- Whether the cancer is invasive (likely to spread) or non-invasive
- Lymph node involvement
- Spread of cancer beyond the breast
Stage 0
- No evidence of cancer cells breaking out of the part of the breast in which they started.
Stage I
- Cancer cells are breaking through to or invading neighboring normal tissue (invasive breast cancer)
- Tumor measures up to 2 centimeters
- No lymph nodes are involved
Stage II (Divided into two subcategories known as IIA and IIB)
IIA (One of the next 3 situations)
- Invasive breast cancer in which no tumor is found in the breast, but cancer cells are found in the lymph nodes under the arm
- Invasive breast cancer in which the tumor measures 2 centimeters or less and has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm
- Invasive breast cancer in which the tumor is greater than 2 centimeters but smaller than 5 centimeters (height of a AA battery) and has not spread to the lymph nodes under the arm
IIB (One of the next 2 situations)
- Invasive breast cancer in which the tumor is larger than 2 centimeters but smaller than 5 centimeters and has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm
- Invasive breast cancer in which the tumor is larger than 5 centimeters but has not spread to the to the lymph nodes under the arm
Stage III (Divided into three subcategories known as IIIA, IIIB, and IIIC)
IIIA
- Invasive breast cancer in which no tumor is found in the breast, but cancer is found in lymph nodes under the arm (axillary lymph nodes) which are clumped together or sticking to other structures, or which have spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone
- Invasive breast cancer in which the tumor is 5 centimeters in size or less and has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm (axillary lymph nodes) and clumped together or sticking to other structures
- Invasive breast cancer in which the tumor is larger than 5 centimeters in size and has spread to lymph nodes under the arm and clumped together or sticking to other structures
IIIB
- Invasive breast cancer in which the tumor has spread to the chest wall and/or skin of the breast and may have spread to lymph nodes under the arm that are clumped together or sticking to other structures, or cancer may have spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone
IIIC
- Invasive breast cancer in which there may be no sign of cancer in the breast or, if there is a tumor, it may be any size and may have spread to the chest wall and/or the skin of the breast, and the cancer has spread to lymph nodes above or below the collarbone, and the cancer may have spread to lymph nodes under the arm or to lymph nodes near the breastbone
Stage IV
- Invasive breast cancer in which the cancer has spread to other organs of the body (usually the lungs, liver, bone, or brain)
For more details on The Breast Center at University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center or for help obtaining a physician referral, please call 440-285-7757.