MY LIFE Matters - Health Literacy - 25

Tumor is > 5 cm
Stage III
Identifies invasive breast cancer and is divided into three subcategories:
Stage IIIA: Cancer is found in 4 to 9 axillary lymph nodes or in the
lymph nodes near the breastbone either with a tumor in the breast
of any size or no tumor; OR there is a tumor in the breast larger than
5 cm and small groups of breast cancer cells between 0.2 mm and 2
mm in the lymph nodes; OR the tumor in the breast is larger than 5
cm and cancer has spread to 1 to 3 axillary lymph nodes or to the
lymph nodes near the breastbone.
Stage IIIB: There is a tumor in the breast of any size and it has
spread to the chest wall and/or skin of the breast and caused
swelling or an ulcer and may have spread to up to 9 axillary lymph
nodes OR may have spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone.
* Inflammatory breast cancer is typically considered at least stage IIIB, no
matter the size of the tumor.
Stage IIIC: There may be no sign of cancer in the breast or, if there
is a tumor, it may be any size and may have spread to the chest
wall and/or the skin of the breast and the cancer has spread to 10
OR more axillary lymph nodes or the cancer has spread to lymph
nodes above or below the collarbone or the cancer has spread to
axillary lymph nodes or to lymph nodes near the breastbone
Tumor spreads
to other organs
Stage IV
Identifies invasive breast cancer and is divided into three subcategories:
Is any cancer that has spread to other parts of the body, known as
metastases, no ma�er the size of the tumor, the lymph node
status, or other factors. This is also known as metasta�c breast
cancer or advanced breast cancer and is the most advanced stage
of breast cancer.
HEALTH LITERACY IS KNOWING YOUR CANCER STAGE
This is one of the items on the Tigerlily Top 10 Health Literacy Checklist.
It is important you know your stage (I, II, III, or IV), how aggressive the cancer is (grade),
and tumor size/loca�on(s) (if applicable). Having this informa�on will help you to ask the
right ques�ons and be your best advocate in choosing treatment op�ons.
#Tigerlilycares
MY LIFE Matters - Health Literacy

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MY LIFE Matters - Health Literacy
