Different Stages of Breast Cancer and the Related Treatments
Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in women, second only to skin cancer. The U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) believes that one out of every eight women will be stricken with breast cancer at some point. Almost 200,000 women are diagnosed with the disease each year in the United States, and it leads to more than 40,000 deaths annually. As with most forms of cancer, the severity of breast cancer is described in stages and treatment will vary based on your doctor's recommendations.
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Stage One
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Breast cancer in stage one is confined to the tissues of the breast and tumors are usually less than 2 cm. The most common treatment for breast cancer of this stage is surgical removal of the cancer cells through a lumpectomy or partial mastectomy. In these treatments, the majority of the healthy breast is spared and the entire breast is not removed, although some women may choose to have a complete mastectomy. If you have stage one breast cancer, you will likely receive radiation therapy after surgery. This therapy uses X-ray radiation to kill or shrink cancer cells. The prognosis for stage one cancer is very good. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the five-year survival rate is nearly 98 percent.
Stage Two
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Stage two breast cancers have spread to one or more lymph nodes and have a five-year survival rate of around 88 percent, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Most stage two patients receive a combination of surgery and radiation like stage one patients. If you have stage two breast cancer, a lumpectomy or partial mastectomy may still be an option, but some patients may require a total mastectomy followed by radiation. In addition, doctors may recommend hormone therapy or chemotherapy for stage two patients. Hormone therapy is used for women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. The goal of the therapy is to stop the ovaries from producing estrogen, which fuels tumor growth in hormone receptor-positive cases.
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Stage Three
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Many stage three breast cancers, in which the cancer is advanced but has not spread far beyond the breast and lymph nodes, are treated with chemotherapy followed by a radical mastectomy. After surgery, most patients will receive radiation therapy as well. Like the other stages, hormone therapy will also be an option for women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. The Cleveland Clinic estimates that the survival rate for stage three breast cancer is approximately 49 to 56 percent after five years.
Stage Four
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Stage four breast cancer is very invasive and has spread to other areas of the body beyond the breast. The American Cancer Society finds that surgery and radiation, the standard treatments for less invasive breast cancer, are not likely to cure stage four cancer. The goal of treatment at this stage is to shrink or slow the tumor as much as possible with chemotherapy and hormone therapy to extend life, although stage four breast cancer is normally life-threatening. Surgery and radiation may be used, but their goal in stage four cancer is to treat symptoms, not cure the disease.
Clinical Trials
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Some of the newest and most innovative treatments for all stages of breast cancer occur in clinical trials. These trials can focus on experimental treatments, screening methods, diagnosis or supportive care. The NCI maintains a database of clinical trials on its website. As of January 2009, there were more than 1,200 clinical trials throughout the world focusing specifically on breast cancer. The database provides information on eligibility criteria and how to contact the researchers conducting the trial.
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