{"id":13927,"date":"2021-08-23T18:02:39","date_gmt":"2021-08-23T23:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=13927"},"modified":"2025-12-23T14:38:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T20:38:23","slug":"stages-of-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/stages-of-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"What do the stages of cancer tell you?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When diagnosed with cancer, one of the first things a person asks is: How bad is it?<\/p>\n<p>By this, the person wants to know the prognosis. To understand the prognosis, they need to know the stage of cancer at diagnosis.<\/p>\n<h2>What cancer stages mean<\/h2>\n<p>The different stages of cancer indicate how much cancer is present if the abnormal cells have spread and where they have spread \u2014 one of the most important things to know when deciding on treatment options.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cClinical staging is important because it tells us the location of primary cancer and if there are other areas involved,\u201d said<a href=\"https:\/\/providers.osfhealthcare.org\/provider\/Ismael+Shaukat\/1462941?name=Ismael+Shaukat&amp;sort=networks,+relevance\"> Ismael Shaukat, MD, a medical oncologist for OSF HealthCare<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s important for the overall prognosis, how we plan to treat the patient and whether we treat or observe the patient.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/freshpaint-video.com\/d7bef322-4e14-46ae-bccd-a1dc9ff764d7\/1eb4c279-a86a-4541-b51b-148041f729dc\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>How stages of cancer are determined<\/h2>\n<p>There will be additional exams and tests to determine the type of cancer and if it has spread. These exams and tests are critical for identifying cancer cells and developing the proper <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/self-awareness-in-cancer-treatment\/\">treatment plan<\/a>. The universal language for identifying cancer is to use \u201cstages.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For some types of cancers, doctors may use the TNM staging system, the most widely used cancer staging system by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facs.org\/quality-programs\/cancer-programs\/american-joint-committee-on-cancer\/\">American Joint Committee on Cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cT\u201d refers to the size and extent of the primary tumor.<\/li>\n<li>\u201cN\u201d refers to the number of nearby lymph nodes with cancer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Numerical values of 1 to 4 are given, with the highest indicating how large the tumor is or how much lymph node involvement exists.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cM\u201d refers to whether cancer has metastasized or spread from the primary tumor to other parts of the body. Values of X, 0 or 1 are associated with the \u201cM,\u201d with X meaning no measurable metastasis, 0 means cancer has not spread to other parts of the body, and 1 represents cancer has spread.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThe stage helps tell us the prognosis or the curability,\u201d Dr. Shaukat said. \u201cThe higher the number, the more advanced the cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>How the stages of cancer are classified<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cStaging helps patients by allowing them to understand their prognosis and what to expect in terms of treatment,\u201d Dr. Shaukat said. \u201cIf the cancer is defined in an early stage, the likelihood of long-term survival is higher.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While the TNM system describes cancer in great detail using letters and numbers, many cancers are grouped into five less-detailed yet more familiar stages. These can be described as stage 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4.<\/p>\n<div class=\"alignright cta\">\n<p>After a cancer diagnosis, you need answers.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/cancer\/\">Find them here. <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Stage 0<\/strong> describes cancer in situ or \u201cin place.\u201d This is an early stage. These cancers are still located where they started and have not spread to nearby tissues. Often highly curable, usually using surgery to remove the tumor.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Stage 1 <\/strong>is often called early-stage and indicates the tumor has not grown deeply into nearby tissues or spread to the lymph nodes or other parts of the body.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Stage 2 and 3 <\/strong>generally indicate the presence of more significant cancers or tumors, which have grown more deeply into nearby tissue and may have also spread to lymph nodes but not to other parts of the body.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Stage 4 <\/strong>is also called advanced or metastatic cancer, as cancer has spread to other organs or parts of the body.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cA lot of patients come in with some knowledge of the different stages of cancer,\u201d Dr. Shaukat said. \u201cFor the most part, when they\u2019re told it\u2019s a Stage 4, in my experience, there\u2019s a universal reaction: They know what Stage 4 is.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>A change in cancer stage<\/h2>\n<p>For the most part, he said, the stage of a cancer doesn\u2019t change. The exception, however, is when cancer has been diagnosed as an early stage, like Stage 1, and years later, there is a cancer recurrence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnother way the stage of a cancer can change is by down staging,\u201d Dr. Shaukat said. \u201cFor example, in breast cancer, a patient may undergo chemotherapy to make the tumor more operable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Four things to know about cancer staging:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Cancer stage helps determine the type of treatment, such as guidelines and timelines.<\/li>\n<li>It helps predict the chance of recovery. While each cancer experience is unique, generalizations can be made for cancer types and stages.<\/li>\n<li>The stage sets the expectations and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/questions-to-ask-after-a-cancer-diagnosis\/\">starts discussions<\/a> about the challenges ahead.<\/li>\n<li>Your cancer stage can help determine if you\u2019d be a fit for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/clinical-trials-give-cancer-patients-the-power-to-make-a-difference\/\">clinical trial<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>\u201cCancer staging,\u201d Dr. Shaukat said, \u201cis used to help patients get the appropriate care they need and to be informed, active participants in their cancer care.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a cancer diagnosis the first question is typically, &#8220;how bad is it?&#8221; Understanding the different stages of cancer can allow patients to get a better grasp of their prognosis and the available treatment options. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":13931,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[805,898,638],"coauthors":[688],"class_list":["post-13927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cancer","tag-cancer-screening","tag-cancer-treatment","tag-screening"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What do the stages of cancer tell you?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By understanding the stages of cancer, patients can get a better grasp of their prognosis and the available treatment options.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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