What is the stage of the breast cancer?
The stage of the cancer tells the doctor the extent of the cancer in the breast and how far the cancer might have spread. Several tests, procedures, and reports help determine the stage of the cancer. The pathology report gives information about the size of the cancer and whether it involves the skin in front of the breast or the muscles and chest wall behind it. The report also indicates whether the lymph nodes have any cancer cells in them and how many lymph nodes are involved. In addition, the report may say whether the cancer is contained within the lymph node or if there is any cancer extension from the lymph node, through the node’s outer capsule and into the tissue outside the node (when this happens, it’s called extracapsular extension). Stages of breast cancer are: • Stage 0: This stage is used to describe non-invasive breast cancer. There is no evidence of cancer cells breaking out of the part of the breast in which it started, or of getting through to or invading neighboring
