Stage 2 Breast Cancer: Symptoms, Treatment & Survival Rate

One of the most important parts of understanding a breast cancer diagnosisis learning about the stage of the disease. The care team stages breast cancerusing information gathered during a physical exam, personal history, imaging studies and an analysis of tissue from surgery or a breast biopsy. Staging for breast cancer includes factors like the size of the breast tumorand where the cancer may have spread from its initial location. Doctors then use the stage, along with other information about the tumor, to help recommend a course of treatment. What is stage 2 breast cancer?Stage 2 breast cancer has cancer cells in a breast and/or in the lymph nodes near a breast. This disease is further defined as stage 2A and stage 2B, depending on other factors. The two substages differ in key ways.Stage 2A breast cancerStage 2A breast cancers are likely to have spread into the lymph nodesin the armpit. Lymph nodes are part of the lymphatic system, which circulates a fluid called lymph throughout th...