Staging and grading breast cancer
What are the stages of breast cancer?
Staging means finding out how big the cancer is and if it has spread to other parts of your body. Staging will help your doctor to plan the best treatment for
Staging and grading breast cancer
What are the stages of breast cancer?
Staging means finding out how big the cancer is and if it has spread to other parts of your body. Staging will help your doctor to plan the best treatment for you.
The staging system normally used in breast cancer is called TNM.
This stands for:
- Tumour (T): How big is the tumour?
- Node (N): Is there cancer in your lymph nodes (N)
- Metastasis (M): Has the cancer has spread to other parts of your body?
Your doctor often uses this information to give your cancer a number stage – from 1 to 4.
A higher number, such as stage 4, means a more serious cancer.
- Stage 0: Non-invasive breast cancer, e.g. DCIS.
- Stage 1: The cancer is found only in your breast.
- Stage 2: The cancer is found your breast and nearby lymph nodes.
- Stage 3: The cancer has spread to more lymph nodes.
- Stage 4: The cancer has spread to other organs in your body. This is called metastatic breast cancer.
Grading describes the cancer cells – what they look like and how they might grow.
Staging describes where the cancer is in your body.
What are the grades of breast cancer?
The cells 