Stage
Staging is the process of determining how much cancer there is in the body and where it is located. The underlying purpose of staging is to describe the extent or severity of an individual's cancer, and to bring together cancers that have similar prognosis and treatment. Staging of breast cancer is one aspect of breast cancer classification that assists in making appropriate treatment choices, when considered along with other classification aspects such as estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor levels in the cancer tissue, the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2/neu) status, menopausal status, and the person's general health.
Staging information that is obtained prior to surgery, for example by mammography, x-rays and CT scans, is called clinical staging and staging by surgery is known as pathological staging.
Pathologic staging is more accurate than clinical staging, but clinical staging is the first and sometimes the only staging type. For example, if clinical staging reveals stage IV disease, extensive surgery may not be not helpful, and (appropriately) incomplete pathological staging information will be obtained.
Read more about this topic: Breast Cancer Classification
Famous quotes containing the word stage:
“She does not realize that the only difference between us is that she is on one stage and I on another. I feel that I am acting just as much as she is.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“Self-pity in its early stage is as snug as a feather mattress. Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable.”
—Maya Angelou (b. 1928)
“Each action of the actor on the stage should be the visible concomitant of his thoughts.”
—Sarah Bernhardt (1845–1923)