Breast Cancer Staging And Treatment Options

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, having overtaken lung cancer for the first time and rising to become the second leading cause of cancer death in 2020. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) also reports that a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every 14 seconds, and this type of disease represents about 25 percent of all cancers in females. Fortunately, breast cancer is also among the most treatable. The overall 5-year survival rate is 90 percent, meaning that 90 of every 100 women are still alive 5 years after being diagnosed.

However, a closer look at the statistics is eye-opening: Stage 1 breast cancer has a 99 percent survival rate, while just 28 percent of women diagnosed with Stage 4 are alive 5 years later. Determining the stage is a major factor in establishing treatment. Health care providers must align cancer care with staging, and the failure to do so could give rise to a Florida cancer malpractice claim. An overview of the relevant concepts is also helpful.

The TNM System

The basis for staging any cancer is the Tumor-Node-Metastasis (TNM) system developed by the American Joint Committee on Cancer. There are multiple criteria for evaluating how far cancer has progressed under this system, but additional factors are included when staging breast cancer. As such:

• Tumor: The “T” focuses on the size of the mass, ranging from no discernable evidence of cancerous cells to a tumor larger than 5 mm.
• Node: When cancerous cells spread into lymph nodes, the “N” is a measurement of how far. In the early stages, cancer could spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone. The N factor is more severe when cancer is found in the nodes near the collarbone
• Metastasis: The spread of breast cancer into other parts of the body is the “M” of the staging system.

The additional criteria for stating breast cancer include the presence of estrogen or progesterone receptors; Grade is also an important factor, i.e., how different the cancerous cells look from normal breast tissue.

Assessing TNM for Breast Cancer Staging

Many people are surprised to learn that there is a Stage 0 for breast cancer, where cancerous cells are present but minuscule. At Stage 1, the tumor is still tiny but may have slightly spread into the lymph nodes. At these earliest stages, surgery, chemo, and radiation therapy – or a combination of treatments – may provide the best outcome.

At Stages 2 and 3, the tumor is growing and already spread to lymph nodes. Stage 4 is metastatic breast cancer, in which cancer has spread to other organs, bones, muscles, lungs, and liver. Treatment options become limited or unavailable, which is why the survival rate drops significantly.

Contact a Florida Cancer Malpractice Attorney to Discuss Concerns

Errors with cancer staging and treatment fall under Florida medical malpractice laws, so you could qualify to recover compensation if your health care provider deviated from the applicable standard of care. For more information, please contact Miami cancer malpractice lawyers at Freidin Brown, P.A., we are happy to set up a no-cost case review at our offices.

Source:

bcrf.org/breast-cancer-statistics-and-resources/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1ZeUBhDyARIsAOzAqQLzoB-8faDdpiBTWEHYNJcdXlohM0QEYNDA9b7fUiuHKA_lamRlbwAaAkZEEALw_wcB