Stage 1 Breast Cancer

Scripture of the Day:

Matthew 8:7

            And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.

Stage 1 Breast Cancer:

The following in Italics is taken from a website that I found that I thought explained the stages very well. The link to that website is at the end of this post. 

Stage I breast cancer is the earliest stage of invasive breast cancer. At this stage, the cancer cells have spread beyond the original location and into the surrounding breast tissue.

Because a stage I tumor is small, it may be difficult to detect. However, breast self-exams and routine screening are always important and can often lead to early diagnosis, when the cancer is most treatable.

Types of stage I breast cancer

Stage I is divided into two categories:

• Stage IA: The tumor measures 2 cm or smaller (about the size of a pea or shelled peanut), and has not spread outside the breast.
• Stage IB: Small clusters of cancer cells measuring no more than 2 mm, are found in the lymph nodes, and either there is no tumor inside the breast, or the tumor is small, measuring 2 cm or less.

The survival rate for stage IA breast cancer may be slightly higher than for stage IB. However, all women with stage I breast cancer are considered to have a good prognosis.

TNM

At stage I, TNM designations help describe the extent of the disease. For example, there may or may not be cancer cells in the lymph nodes, and the size of the tumor may range from 1 - 2 cm. Most commonly, stage I breast cancer is described as:

• T: T1, T2, T3 or T4, depending on the size and/or extent of the primary tumor.
• N0: Usually, cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes
• M0: The disease has not spread to other sites in the body

TNM is a way of staging the cancers. Mine was Stage 1 Noninvasive Intraductal Carcinoma. According to Wikipedia this is abnormal cells found in the lining of the breast duct. my tumor was 1.6 cm in size. Above it says that this size of tumor is often hard to detect. In my breast surgeon's office she has a chart that says how long it take for a tumor to grow to a specific size. Mine took 8 years. To me that is mind boggling to think that this started in my 8 years prior to the discovery. I was walking around all those years with a time bomb in my chest. Mine had not spread to my lymph nodes. Early detection was key to the success of my recovery. Please check yourself and get your mammograms.

The for more information please follow the link to this website:

Breast Cancer Stage 1

If you are making this journey as I am, may God bless you with His healing touch. I know he loves you.