So wait....is stage 3 considered early or late stage cancer?

tangandchris

Just wondering how we fall....I'm assuming stag 0-2 is early and 3-4 is late. Or maybe 3 is late and 4 is advanced? I don't know why this even makes a difference. It is just some of the material I read refers to "early stage" cancer and I don't know if that is for me or not.

thanks

muska

I think it is still considered early stage, however it indicates higher risk of progression than other early stage bc. That's all it is - to me anyway - just a classification.

Momine

It depends what you read. After taking a break from research articles, I delved yesterday for the first time in a long while.

In some literature, 0-3 is all classified as "early," meaning "not metastatic."

However, in a lot of other literature, anything from 2B-3C is classified as "locally advanced," often abbreviated as "LABC" - locally advanced breast cancer. So that makes "early" into 0-2A, "LABC" into 2B-3C and then metastatic/4.

Anonymous

That's interesting Momine. I always thought LABC was classified as only Stage III which never made sense to me as Stage IIB often also has lymph node involvement and the difference between IIB and IIIA can only be one positive node. Of course you can even have node involvement at IIA but that seems less common.

Momine

Badat, I thought so too, about only stage 3 being LABC, but what I read yesterday said otherwise.

Sarahlou50

At my time of diagnosis in 1999, I was eventually diagnosed a Stage III as there was no A, B or C back then, but now I think I would have been a Stage IIIC, but with only 2 lymph nodes involved: one under the arm and the other appeared in the supraclavicular notes 3 weeks later. It was only when I saw a consultant in Harley Street, London he informed me I had a locally advanced breast cancer.

Jenwith4kids

I think locally advanced BC is still considered early stage at this time. It's been my understanding that only metastatic cancer is considered late stage. My doc told me that inwas considered early stage even though I had five nodes involved

GraceB1

My IIIA BC was not considered early stage by my surgeon when I inquired about the shorter, heavier dose radiation treatments. She said that was only for early stage and to put it out of my head. I'm confused too. I only consider stage IV as late stage.

Nursie

maybe the mods can elaborate for us. I thought stage three was "advanced" not late stage. Stage 3 is more advanced than 0-2.

I would like to know too!

lkc

there is alot of miscommunication out there. When i was first dxed the " lay " people called me( Stage IIIC) late stage. Late stage is classified as Stage IV or distant metastatic BC .

Locally Advanced BC is typically stage III with mets to lymph nodes.

It's all a bit confusing, However staging is used for treatment options, so I learned early on not to get caught up in my " late stage".

NED after 9.5 years and happy as a Clam!!!

Lily55

stage 3 is locally advanced breast cancer, but still early stage, especially 3A, I was told this very clearly

SpecialK

The NCI describes early stage breast cancer as DCIS at stage 0 through invasive cancer staged up to and including IIIA, which is a hugely broad spectrum, and certainly includes many different treatment scenarios.  Here is their link:

http://www.cancer.gov/dictionary?cdrid=446564

I think because IIB and IIIA are close enough in description but stop short of skin or chest wall involvement and a larger number of involved nodes, the cut off between "early" and "late" is drawn after IIIA.  My understanding of "locally advanced" is cancer that has left the breast tissue but not metastasized distantly, but I have also seen definitions that are stages IIIB/C only.

Anonymous

Lily, your doc said the same thing as mine. But just being put into stages that alone messes with our stress level. My thought is "any" stage is to be taken seriously....