Staging Breast Cancer method

This is one of the reason why I keep on asking if IBC is Inflammatory or Invasive, it isn't that I am, stubbon, thick or plain dumb, it is a grey area when using these initials, especially when it isn't specified that this is what those initials particularly stand for. I had a jerk professor tell me I had IBC meaning inflammatory BC and I thought I had this for years and I was expecting to die any minute, and it wasn't until my own onc pointed out that I in fact had "Invasive Breast Cancer' and the jerk had decided that he would brand me with the the worst scenerio of the "IBC" initials status meaning inflammatory.

Cheers Lyn

Stages of Breast Cancer

Is it Stage II? Is it inflammatory breast cancer? Although learning where you fit in the scheme of breast cancer stages can feel like a jail term ("So now I guess I'm stuck at stage III"), this information is a key part of figuring out how you and your doctors will approach your treatment. The purpose of the staging system is to help organize the different factors and personality features of the cancer into categories, in order to:

best understand your prognosis (the most likely outcome of the disease)


guide treatment decisions


provide a common way to describe the extent of breast cancer for doctors and nurses all over the world, so that results of your treatment can be compared and understood.

enlarge image Tumor sizes:
3 spheres measuring 1 cm, 3cm, 5cm



Stage 0
This stage is used to describe non-invasive breast cancer. There is no evidence of cancer cells breaking through to or invading neighboring normal tissue.

Stage I
This stage describes invasive breast cancer (cancer cells are breaking through to or invading neighboring normal tissue) in which

The tumor measures up to two centimeters, AND


No lymph nodes are involved.
Stage II
This stage describes invasive breast cancer in which:

The tumor measures at least two centimeters, but not more than five centimeters, OR


Cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm on the same side as the breast cancer. Affected lymph nodes have not yet stuck to one another or to the surrounding tissues, a sign that the cancer has not yet advanced to stage III. (The tumor in the breast can be any size.)
Stage III
Stage III is divided into subcategories known as IIIA and IIIB.

Stage IIIA
This stage describes Invasive Breast Cancer in which:

The tumor measures larger than five centimeters, OR


The tumor has spread to lymph nodes, and nodes are clumping or sticking to one another or surrounding tissue.
Stage IIIB
This stage describes invasive breast cancer in which a tumor of any size has spread to the breast skin, chest wall, or internal mammary lymph nodes (located beneath the breast inside the chest)—and includes inflammatory breast cancer.

Inflammatory breast cancer
Expert Quote
"When you're in the midst of the diagnosis and staging process, and the tumor information is coming back in bits and pieces, at many different times, it is an extremely stressful time in your life. Uncertainty really stinks! But you will feel SO much better once you know what you're dealing with, when your treatment plan has been worked out, and you start your treatment. Only then does much of that dreadful uncertainty lift, and you finally feel that you are doing something to get rid of the problem." —Marisa Weiss, M.D.
Inflammatory breast cancer is a very uncommon but very serious, aggressive type of breast cancer that is considered stage IIIB. The most distinguishing feature of inflammatory breast cancer is redness involving part or all of the breast. The redness feels warm. You may see puffiness of the breast's skin that looks like the peel of a navel orange ("peau d'orange"), or even ridges, welts, or hives. And part or all of the breast may be enlarged and hard. Inflammatory breast cancer is sometimes misdiagnosed as a simple infection.

Hear answers to questions about inflammatory breast cancer in our Frequently Asked Questions section.

Stage IV
This stage includes Invasive breast cancer in which a tumor has spread beyond the breast, underarm, and internal mammary lymph nodes. The tumor may have spread to the supraclavicular lymph nodes (nodes located at the base of the neck, above the collarbone), lungs, liver, bone, or brain.

Additional stage information:
You may also hear terms such as "early" or "earlier" stage, "later" or "advanced" stage breast cancer. Although these terms are not medically precise (they may be used differently by different doctors), here is a general idea of how they apply to the official staging system:

Early stage:
Stage 0
Stage I
Stage II
Later stage:
(stage II if there are many lymph nodes involved)
Stage III (IIIA, IIIB)
Advanced stage:
Stage IV





This page was last modified on May 10, 2004


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