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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!!!

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.