Breast Cancer - Pink ribbon Breast Cancer Tattoo

Stadium is one of the most important factor in choosing treatment options. Some tests can be performed in order to assist in the stage of breast cancer, including clinical breast examination, biopsy, imaging, and especially as a chest x-ray, mammography, bone scan, CT and MRI. Blood tests used to assess the overall health of women and whether the cancer will spread to certain areas are often followed by imaging studies.

Staging of breast cancer confusing, and classification systems to change the physician time to learn in relation to breast cancer. All letters and numbers can be confusing, but these facts help to know you and your doctor what you can about your cancer.

Although breast cancer staging is a complex classification system, a change as physicians learn more about this disease, may be beneficial for patients to find out what the physician in determining a diagnosis.

The most common formulation of this method, called the TNM staging system consists of three main elements:

- Tumor (T). What is the size of the tumor, and extends into the muscle wall of the skin or chest? Tumor size is one of the most important predictors, such as cancer will.

- Node (N). In cancer cells spread to nearby lymph nodes? Doctors estimate how many lymph nodes under the arm (axillary lymph nodes) test positive for cancer, because their status is strongly associated with prognosis. Breast cancer can be as "node positive" or "node" is shown.

- Metastasis (M). The cancer has spread to other distant parts of the body?

The goal of staging is to manage a variety of factors, as well as some personal characteristics of the cancer into categories, such that:

- A better understanding of your prognosis (the likelihood of disease)

- Immediate treatment decisions (as well as other areas of your pathology report), as the clinical treatment of breast cancer who will examine you and your doctor, including regulating the production system

- To make a general method to ensure that breast cancer rates for doctors and nurses around the world, that treatment outcomes can be assessed and understood to explain.

0-4 staging system based on data from many people with breast cancer, your ability to survive at least five years after diagnosis brings. Not to formulate a probability, not certainty. Living With the advances in diagnosis and treatment of people with breast cancer longer than ever before.