Even if you don’t fully understand what cancer stages mean, you may know that a higher stage refers to a cancer that’s more serious. Determining the stage of a cancer, however, is an important and detailed process that helps assess the most appropriate treatment for the patient. The stages of breast cancer range from I (one) to IV (four). Earlier stages typically represent a breast cancer that has not spread beyond the breast, and are thus more easily treatable.
“For all types of breast cancer, we really separate early stage, which is stage I, II, and III … versus stage IV breast cancer, which is defined as the cancer having spread to a distant organ,” says Amy Tiersten, MD, hematologist and oncologist at The Mount Sinai Hospital.
Amy Tiersten, MD, is a Professor of Medicine, Hematology, and Medical Oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She sees patients at the Dubin Breast Center.
References
American Cancer Society. (2021). Breast cancer stages.
American Cancer Society. (n.d.). Treating breast cancer.
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