Stages Of Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Breast cancer all begins in the cells, when cells are normal they will grow, divide, and die off when damaged. When the process goes wrong, new cells form that the body does not need which causes a buildup of old cells called a tumor. The tumors can either be benign which means they are not cancerous, or they can be malignant-cancer causing tumors. If the tumor is not found and treated immediately the breast cancer cells can travel through lymph vessels spreading the cancer to other parts of the body. It is defined as: “The development of malignant cells in the breast. The malignant cells originate in the lining of the milk glands or ducts of the breast, defining this malignancy as a cancer. Cancer cells are characterized by …show more content…
Stage IA of breast cancer is when the tumor is no more than 2cm wide, and has not spread to the lymph nodes. You know you are in stage IB when the cancer has been spread to the lymph nodes. If the tumor is 2-5 cm large and has been spread to the underarm lymph nodes, or if the tumor is 5cm and has not been spread to under arm lymph nodes doctors would say you are in stage II. Stage III is when the tumor is no more than 5 cm across and the cancer has spread to underarm or breast bone lymph nodes. If the tumor is larger than 5 cm then that means that the cancer has been spread to either underarm lymph nodes or to breast bone lymph nodes. In stage IV the tumor has grown larger and the cancer has been spread through the breast to other parts of the …show more content…
Women under 50 have experienced larger decreases. Many people are concerned that they have a higher risk of cancer if their mother or grandmother had it. This statistic truly shows the risk of getting breast cancer if someone in your family has had it. “A woman’s risk of breast cancer approximately doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Less than 15% of women who get breast cancer have a family member diagnosed with it.” (U.S. Breast Cancer, 2015). There are many statistics that have been proven over the years, that goes to show how many people are actually affected by breast cancer. Breast cancer is everywhere. The pink ribbons, the “I heart boobies” bracelets, and the thousands of breast cancer walks all over the United States. These all contribute to breast cancer organizations. Over one hundred million dollars has been raised to support breast cancer. This may not seem serious by the promotions and jokes that these organizations pull support from, but don’t forget the millions of people who have breast cancer and their lifetime