Breast Cancer Awareness Month Tip #30--Know the stages--Stage 4

In stage 4 the cancer spread to different organs like the lungs, skin etc.

Breast cancer is divided into 5 stages starting from 0 to 4. Stage 0 is the non-invasive breast cancer where the cancerous cells have just been observed in the lining of the milk ducts. Cancer is in this stage is easily treatable. In stage 1, the cancer becomes evident but has not spread to the nearby tissue. In this stage, cancer can be easily treated, as the lump size is very small. In stage 2 the cancer cells start spreading and can spread to the nearby lymph nodes. Stage 1 and 2 are early stage breast cancers. In stage 3, the tumour size exceeds 5 cm and the cancer cells may have invaded the nearby lymph nodes and a few tissues but has not spread to distant organs.

Stage 4 is the final breast cancer stage and is also called the metastatic stage. In this stage, the cancer has spread beyond the breast to the nearby lymph nodes and organs like the lungs, distant lymph nodes, skin and bones etc. Read: 10 tips to detect breast cancer early

Dr Dhairyasheel Savant, Oncosurgeon at the Asian Institute of Oncology SL Raheja Hospital, Mumbai explains that the treatment for Stage 4 breast cancer is incomplete without surgery and radiation. Stage 4 is usually characterised by fungating lesions which are open wounds that bleed and increase the chances of secondary infection. The only option in this stage is toilet mastectomy which is like a total clean up of the lesions. It is done only to improve the quality of the patient's life and not to cure cancer. The survival chances of the patient are also very less.

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Image source: Shutterstock

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