Warning Symptoms of Breast Cancer Progression

Over 90 percent of breast cancer cases are diagnosed during the earlier stages of the disease. Early spotting is beneficial for the patient as it typically means better treatment and a stronger prognosis.
Nonetheless, early diagnosis is only a fraction of the whole medical picture. Other disease characteristics, like hormone receptors and lymph nodes, can aid in prognosing results and help doctors and patients choose the right treatment.
Though breast cancer rates are increasing in North America and the United Kingdom, the fatality rate is falling. This declining death rate is accredited to more women getting mammograms, better evaluation processes, and more potent secondary treatments.
Thus if the majority of diagnosed breast cancer cases are discovered during the preliminary stages, what effect does that have on patients and what are the best treatment courses?
The Early Stages of Breast Cancer
Earlier breast cancer stages are called TNM stages 1, 2 and 3a. This scoring system approximates how far the carcinoma has advanced. It's also based on whether any present tumors are operable.
The majority of early breast cancer cases are cured through either surgery, radiation therapy, systemic therapy or a combination of the three, resulting in a much greater survival rate.
Normal Treatment Reactions
Treatment reaction generally hinges on lymph node engagement, the size and grade of any tumors, the age of the patient, hormone (estrogen and progesterone) receptors, and the status or condition of biologic markers like HER2/neu.
Lymph Nodes
Lymph nodes are an effective way to predict the effects of breast cancer. Essentially, the more positive lymph nodes that are present, the lower the patient's survival rate and the higher the chances of relapse.
Commonly, patients with earlier stage breast cancer are classified into either those presenting negative nodes, 1 to 3 positive lymph nodes, 4 to 9 positive nodes, or 10 and more nodes.
Tumor Size
If a patient exhibits negative lymph nodes and a tumor that is smaller than 1cm, the prognosis is often very good. Most doctors use tumor size as an effective and critical indicator during the early stages of this disease.
Tumor Grade
The lower the tumor grade, the lower the risk for relapse. Nevertheless, due to the undependability of tumor information, most pathologists don't trust this data for their medical assessment.
Estrogen and Progesterone Receptors
The status of hormone receptors in the tumor is another indicator used by doctors when prognosing early stage breast cancer. Typically, patients who experience a receptor-positive cancer have a stronger survival rate than those who do not.
HER2/neu
HER2/neu is a tumor marker that is expressed in approximately a quarter of all breast cancer cases. If its numbers are high, this is usually associated with a more aggressive form of breast cancer.
Patient Age
Concerning various breast cancer stages, normally older patients (over the age of 50) have a stronger prognosis than younger patients (under the age of 35