Breast Cancer Staging

It is important for your doctor to know the 'stage', or the extent of your breast cancer before talking with you about possible treatments.

Stage	Description

T = tumor size
T1	tumor is less than or equal to 2 cm size
T2	tumor is greater than 2 cm and up to 5 cm in size
T3	tumor is larger than 5 cm
T4	tumor of any size fixed to the chest wall or skin
T4a	fixed to chest wall only
T4b	skin involvement only
T4c	both chest wall and skin affected
T4d	inflammatory changes (breast is reddened and swollen)

N = regional lymph node involvement (lymph nodes in the area around the affected breast)
N0	no cancerous cells found in lymph nodes
N1	armpit lymph nodes involved on the same side as affected breast, are moveable
N2	armpit lymph nodes involved, lymph nodes are fixed or stuck in place
N3	lymph nodes are involved, internal mammary

M = Metastases (cancer has spread to other parts of the body)
M0	no metastases
M1	distant metastases, including nonregional lymph nodes

The tumor size and the presence of any cancer in the lymph nodes are confirmed by the pathologist who examines the tissues under a microscope. A chest-x-ray, ultrasound of the abdomen, and a bone scan are routinely done to find out if there might be any tumors anywhere else in the body.

Once the results of the tests and the stage of your cancer ar, the cancer doctor will talk with you about possible treatments, or any clinical trials that you might be eligible to take part in. More details about treatment can be found in the Patient/Family MD section of the website: