Stage 2: Life expectancy and chances of recovery
The life expectancy of the tumour in stage 2 is still quite good, as is the chance of cure. Stage 2 particularly expresses the fact that the tumour has not yet spread to distant regions of the body, but that the tumour is still localised in the breast in the immediately adjacent lymph nodes. With the therapy, which here also consists of surgical removal and subsequent radiation, healing can often be achieved.
In addition to the tumour stage, many other factors are important for further treatment, from which certain chemotherapy and hormone therapies are derived. Tumours with different characteristics respond differently to the therapies. Overall, life expectancy in stage 2 is still good.
Stage 3
Stage 3 can be divided into 3A, 3B and 3C. Common to the entire stage 3 is that there is still no metastasis to distant tissue and organs. However, the tumour may have grown so large in the breast that it grows into the breast wall or grows out to the skin surface.
All sizes of tumours are therefore included. The lymph nodes are also increasingly affected at this stage. After the first lymph node station of the breast cancer in the armpit, the tumor cells spread increasingly below and above the collarbone, then also at the lymph nodes along the breast arteries.
Stage 3: Life expectancy and chances of recovery
The life expectancy and chance of recovery decreases compared to stage 2. However, it is important to note that even in stage 3 there are no distant metastases. Only the lymph nodes may already be severely affected.
These are also surgically removed together with the removal of the tumour in the breast. Chemo- and hormone therapy is essential in stage 3, as it can significantly increase life expectancy in percentage terms. The local spread into the chest wall is particularly decisive for the prognosis. If too much surrounding essential tissue has already been infiltrated, surgical removal is difficult.
Stage 4
Stage 4 represents the last of the breast cancer stages. This stage includes all tumours that are associated with diagnosed metastases in other organs. The amount of metastases in lymph nodes and the size of the original tumour can vary. In breast cancer, the lungs, bones, liver and brain are particularly affected by distant metastases.
Stage 4: Life expectancy and chances of recovery
Life expectancy and chances of recovery decrease dramatically with the presence of metastases in distant organs. The primary reason for this is that the tumour has already reached many parts of the body via the bloodstream. For this reason, even if the tumour appears to have been removed successfully, the occurrence of recurrences is extremely probable.
If several organs are affected by metastases, surgery can often be difficult to perform. An exact life expectancy can by no means be determined. However, with modern drug therapies good results can be achieved and many years can be gained. or life expectancy in breast cancer
