In the past, only the size of a tumor and the status of nearby lymph nodes were used to determine the stage of someone’s breast cancer. It was a fairly simple system based purely on anatomy, and was therefore easy for people to memorize.
If a tumor was two centimeters wide or smaller, it was considered stage I. If a tumor was larger than that or the cancer was detectable in nearby lymph nodes, it was considered stage... MD Anderson’s blog features stories from survivors and caregivers, and our experts’ insights on cancer treatment, research breakthroughs, healthy living and more.