Once breast cancer has been detected a specialist will decide on which kind of treatment would be best The specialist would need to decide - what stage is the cancer, how big is the tumour, where is the tumour located, what grade is the cancer, and has the cancer spread to other parts of the body?
The answer to these questions determines the course of treatment a patient is offered.
Staging the cancer
This is important as it informs the specialist the size of the tumour, lymph node status, local involvement and if metastatic disease is present. The stage is higher if the tumour is large, lymph nodes are affected, invasiveness of the chest wall etc and if the cancer cells are aggressive. The stage is lower if the tumour is small, other areas are not affected and nearly normal cell behaviour is found.
Grading the cancer
Cancer cells taken from the biopsy are graded by watching how they behave. If they are close to normal cells, growth would be slower allowing for a better prognosis. Cells that are not well differentiated can divide more rapidly and usually spread.
- Grade 1 - well differentiated cells (low)
- Grade 2 – moderate cells (intermediate)
- Grade 3/4 – undifferentiated or poor cells
DCIS
This condition means that the cells that line the milk ducts are cancerous cells. These cells stay within the ducts and do not grow into the surrounding breast tissue. If a patient is diagnosed the DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) there is little chance of these cells spreading as treatment would usually cure the condition.
Small, early breast cancers
If no lymph glands have been affected and the cancer is less than 2cm across with a low or intermediate grade of 1 or 2, 85-89% of women will live for at least 10 years after treatment.
For breast cancers less than 2cm across and have no lymph nodes involvement but have been graded 3 then between 70-78% of women will live for at least 10 years after treatment.
Larger breast cancers or involvement of lymph nodes
With larger breast cancers or if the lymph nodes are involved it is difficult to quote statistics. Depending upon the stage and grade of the breast cancer prognosis is far better provided by a cancer specialist.