A Brief Guide to Breast Cancer

MYTH No2: I've got cancer, my life is over!

Once it has been established that your symptoms (lump etc) were indeed breast cancer, and that the tumour has been excised by surgery, it will be sent to pathology for analysis. This will reveal the aggressiveness of your cancer, and the stage it is at. These are the important points for you in determining which treatment you wish to go for, and what your chances of survival are.

1.Breast Conditions     2.Grading & Stages     3.Hormonal Therapy
Grading Stages
The Grading refers to the appearance of the cancer cells under the microscope. The higher the grade, the more abnormal the cells look, and the quicker they will develop indicating an "aggressive" cancer. There are three grades:
  1. Low-Grade: cells almost look normal
  2. Moderate-Grade: cells look more abnormal
  3. High-Grade: cells look very abnormal and are more likely to spread
Although it is important to know the grading, this is not really an indication of your future chances of survival. It is possible to live many years with a Grade 3 cancer that has not spread, while a lower grade that has spread would be worse. On the other hand, it is important to understand that even if your cancer has not spread at the moment, it may do so at any time, regardless of the treatment. There is no real "all clear" diagnosis from cancer. What is meant by the "5 year all-clear" benchmark is that, following treatment, 75% of cancer victims were still alive and apparently cancer-free after 5 years. It is just a scientific gauge. It does not mean that after the set number of years, you will never die of breast cancer and neither does it mean that you will.		 The stage of a cancer describes its size and whether it has spread beyond its original site. This affects which treatment options you will be presented with.
  • Stage 1: the tumour measures less than 2cm. The lymph glands in the armpit are not affected and there are no signs the cancer has spread elsewhere.
  • Stage 2: the tumour is between 2 and 5cm, and/or the lymph glands in the armpit are affected, but there are no signs that the cancer has spread further.
  • Stage 3: the tumour is larger than 5cm and may be attached to the muscle or skin. The lymph glands are usually affected but there are no signs that the cancer has spread beyond the breast or the lymph glands in the armpit.
  • Stage 4: the tumour is of any size but the lymph glands are usually affected, and the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. This is secondary or metatastatic cancer.
It is only at Stage 4 that you can be certain that your future is limited. Secondary cancer can of course occur later on, even if your original tumour had not spread to the lymph glands, and was a Stage 1. This is because cancer cells can never be totally eliminated from the body, and may lie dormant for a while before manifesting themselves elsewhere later.