PT Health Life – Stage 3 breast cancer marks an important stage in the disease treatment process. We invite readers to learn about survival rates and modern treatment methods related to the disease during this period through the following article.
1. What is stage 3 breast cancer ?
Stage 3 breast cancer is a condition in which the cancer has begun to spread from where it originated to nearby lymph nodes, but has not yet reached other parts of the body. Signs of cancer at this stage may include:
- The skin becomes thicker, resembles orange peel, or becomes dimpled.
- The skin on the breast area is damaged.
- Breast lumps can be seen raised on the skin.
- Breast tumors are very hard and do not move easily.
- The breast lump or skin around the breast is red and hot, this is called inflammatory breast cancer.
- There may be a large tumor under the armpit, which can be fixed or mobile.
- Sometimes a lump is also seen in the neck.
Stage 3 breast cancer is also divided into three subtypes based on the size of the tumor and where it has spread:
- Stage 3A: Breast tumor is less than or equal to 2cm, has not spread far but has spread to nearby lymph nodes. Or the tumor may be larger than 2cm but smaller than 5cm and has spread to several lymph nodes. Or the tumor is larger than 5cm and has spread to the lymph nodes but the lymph nodes are still mobile.
- Stage 3B: The tumor has spread to the skin and/or chest muscles, creating inflammation and may have spread to lymph nodes, whether they are mobile or not.
- Stage 3C: The tumor may be arbitrarily large, has spread to larger lymph nodes under the collarbone, and up to 10 lymph nodes may be affected.
The differences between these three stages can affect how the cancer is treated and prognosis. This helps doctors decide on the best treatment for each specific case, from surgery to other therapies.
2. Can stage 3 breast cancer be cured?
With advances in treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and other advanced therapies such as hormone treatment or targeted therapy, the quality and effectiveness of cancer treatment have improved. clearly good. However, detecting the disease at an early stage is still the most important key to successful treatment.
Medical experts often consider stage 3 breast cancer as a cancer that has progressed but is still treatable. A patient’s chance of recovery and treatment outcome depend on many factors such as age, overall health status, the patient’s response to therapy, and the size of the tumor.
According to the American Cancer Society, the 5-year survival rate for people with stage 3 breast cancer is about 86% overall, but this rate varies depending on the specific stage: about 67% for stage 3A and from 41-49% for stages 3B to 3C.
However, stage 3 breast cancer also faces a high risk of recurrence after treatment, and the prognosis is often less optimistic than in earlier stages. But thanks to advances in medicine, many sick people still have the opportunity to overcome disease and live a healthy life.
3. Stage 3 breast cancer treatment methods
When it comes to treating stage 3 breast cancer, one of the important things doctors need to consider is whether the tumor can be removed through surgery. If the tumor can be removed, this means the doctor believes they can remove most or all of the tumor to help treat the disease. However, if surgery is not feasible, meaning the doctor feels it is not possible to remove all the cancer cells, they will turn to other treatments that do not require surgery.
Some main treatments for stage 3 breast cancer include:
- Surgery: Usually a mastectomy to remove cancerous tissue and nearby lymph nodes.
- Hormone therapy: Used to slow or stop the growth of cancer cells stimulated by hormones.
- Chemotherapy: Using special drugs to kill rapidly growing cancer cells.
- Targeted therapy: Treatment that uses genes to precisely attack cancer cells without harming benign cells.
- Radiation therapy: Applying radiation to kill cancer cells, often used after surgery to reduce the risk of cancer returning. This therapy is especially important in cases with a high risk of recurrence such as large tumors, multiple tumors, or tumors that have spread to the skin and chest wall, as well as cases where lymph nodes are affected.
- Immunotherapy: Stimulates the body’s immune system to kill cancer cells more effectively.
4. Can inoperable stage 3 breast cancer be treated?
Although your doctor may say that stage 3C breast cancer is sometimes inoperable, this does not mean that there is no treatment left. “Inoperable” means that surgery alone cannot remove all the cancer cells from the breast and surrounding tissue. Because during surgery to remove cancer, the doctor also needs to remove a small amount of healthy tissue around the tumor, called the “margin,” to make sure no cancer cells are left behind.
To effectively remove breast cancer, it is necessary to ensure that the healthy tissue surrounding the tumor is completely free of cancer cells, from the top near the collarbone down to the bottom area of the breast. In some cases, after other treatment to shrink the tumor, surgical removal of the breast cancer may become possible. This means that although surgery is initially not possible, with therapy to shrink the tumor, surgery can then be performed to remove the cancer.
Although stage 3 breast cancer has a high risk of recurrence and spread, controlling the disease is still completely possible if a treatment plan is designed specifically for each person, combined with the patient’s initiative. core. This means that, to achieve the best treatment results, patients need to be cared for at reputable hospitals, which have a team of good and experienced doctors and advanced medical equipment. .
Here, coordination between specialists such as Oncology, Endocrinology, Nutrition… is very important to be able to discuss (consult) and plan the best treatment, helping to minimize complications, increasing the chance of successful treatment and improving patient survival.
