Breast Cancer Survival Rates - Stage 2 Breast Cancer
The Whole Truth and Nothing by The Truth on the Survival RatesStage 2 breast cancer is further divided into two more stages namely 2A and 2B. In Stage 2A cancer one or more of the following applies.
- Tumor size is 2cm or less (cross section)
- The cancer has spread to 1-3 axillary lymph nodes.
- Small amounts of cancer cells are found in mammary lymph nodes via sentinel lymph node biopsy.
Stage 2B breast cancer is characterized by one of the following:
- The tumor is between 2cm and 5cm in size (cross section).
- The tumor has also spread from 1 to 3 axillary lymph nodes and small amounts of cancer are found in mammary lymph nodes via sentinel lymph node biopsy.
- The tumor may be larger than 5cm across but is not growing against the skin or chest wall. It may also not have spread to the lymph nodes.
Five-Year Survival rates for Stage 2 breast cancer is unfortunately lower than stage 1 breast cancer. For stage 2A breast cancer, five-year survival rates range from about 88% to 92%. On the other hand, stage 2b breast cancer, five-year survival rates range from 76% to 81%.
In most cases women who have stage 2 breast cancer are surgically treated via a mastectomy although a lumpectomy may be an option. Usually doctors also remove the lymph nodes and suggest chemotherapy and or radiation, endocrine therapy or targeted therapies after the mastectomy or lumpectomy are performed.
Statistics show that in North America, 29% of diagnosed breast cancer stages are in stage 2 for white women and 36% for black women.
Remember, the survival rate in this stage is still very high due to modern medicine.