Staging and grading breast cancer

When you are diagnosed with breast cancer, you may hear your treatment team talk about your cancer by its stage or grade. Knowing the stage and grade of your breast cancer is important as it helps your treatment team decide the best treatment for you.

Stages of breast cancer

 Staging describes:

“ Your records and medical notes may record your

cancer using a more detailed system than this,

but the diagnosis is the same.”

Venise

 

Grading breast cancer

The pathologist (the doctor who looks at cancers in the laboratory) ‘grades’ the cancer according to the way the cancer cells look. Grading is a way of describing what cancer cells look like compared to normal cells. This tells you how quickly your cancer is growing and the risk that it may spread to other parts of your body.

Blood tests

If you are having surgery a small sample of blood will be taken to check your general health.

Bone scan, PET and CT scan 

If there is a concern that the cancer has spread to other parts of your body, you may have a bone scan and/or CT scan. Sometimes a PET–CT scan may be used to stage the cancer. The results of your tests will help to decide on the best treatment for you.