I was recently made aware of the fact that my use of the phrase “I have been diagnosed with stage IV metastatic breast cancer” is misunderstood. In fact, it was mistaken as the type of cancer I have. Actually, the type of cancer I have is invasive ductile carcinoma. I know that is a mouthful that has no relevance to anyone but to another woman who may also have heard that same diagnosis. The more familiar term we use is just breast cancer. However, my final diagnosis was, as I’ve stated, Stage IV metastatic breast cancer. This recent incident made me aware of the fact that I have become so accustomed to the terminology that I forgot that my readers are not up on all of this cancer lingo. I apologize for my oversight.
When my parents fought their battles with cancer they did not use these technical terms; so, I didn’t know their meaning until I faced my own battle with the disease. As my doctors used these terms & asked of clarification. As I encountered them in my reading, they were explained. Why should I assume everyone knows what I mean when I make statements that include these medical and technical terms that are not familiar, everyday words?
To simplify explaining how these terms describe the progression of my cancer rather than the type of cancer, I read the explanations in a couple of my reference books & chose the following to share with you:
Cancer that metastasizes, or spreads to other organs, is the same disease and has the same name as the primary (original) cancer. When breast cancer spreads, it is called metastatic breast cancer, even though the secondary tumor is in another organ.
When any type of cancer is diagnosed, a biopsy [tissue sample] is examined by a pathologist. He or she will issue a report that includes common classifications describing the cancer. Cancers are classified in two ways: by stage, which is a numerical determination of how far the cancer has progressed, and by a histologic grade, which describes how slow or fast the cancer is growing and progressing from stage to stage. . .
. . . Grading of cancer uses classification levels of 1 to 3. . .Grade 1 tumors consist of relatively slow-growing cancer cells. . . [Grade 2 grows at a moderate rate, and Grade 3 is the fastest growing type.]
The stage and grade of a cancer are unrelated to one another, except that the two categories combined describe the status of the cancer in such a way that the doctor can determine how aggressively it must be treated. . .
The stage of a cancer is based upon a pathologist’s examination of the biopsy tissue. Pathologists determine stage based upon the status of three areas of concern: the size and type of the tumor, whether cancer is present in the lymph nodes, and whether metastasis has occurred. The various categories of these areas, taken from the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) classification system, are taken in combination to assign a stage. Stage is given as one of the following categories:
The above information was taken from the book 100 Questions & Answers About Breast Cancer, Second Edition, by Zora K. Brown, Harold P. Freeman, MD with Elizabeth PlattStage 0 (early stage) . . . tumorless Paget’s disease. No actual tumor is reported, and there are no signs of spread to lymph nodes or tissue beyond the breast.
Stage I (early stage) means that cancer cells are not found in the lymph nodes and the tumor is no more than 2 cm (less than one inch) across.
Stage II (early stage) means that cancer has spread to underarm lymph nodes and/or the tumor in the breast is 2 to 5 cm (1 to 2 inches) across. . .
Stage III (advanced stage) is also called locally advanced cancer. The tumor in the breast is usually large (more than 2 inches across), the cancer is extensive in the underarm lymph nodes, or it has spread to other lymph node areas or to other tissues near the breast. . .
Stage IV is metastatic cancer. The size of the tumor and extent of spread to the lymph nodes are less important in this case than the fact that the cancer has spread from the breast to other organs of the body.
