Anton Bilchik MD Explains Cancer Staging

Doctors use the phrase “cancer staging” as a way of talking about how far cancer has spread in a person’s body. Physicians use cancer staging to discuss most types of cancer except for brain tumors and cancers of the blood. Correct staging is critical, in that doctors develop treatment strategies according to a cancer’s stage; incorrect staging leads to improper treatment.

Physicians consider many variables when staging cancer, including:

• The size of the tumor

• How deeply it penetrates into the walls of a hollow organ, such as the bladder or intestines

• Whether the cancer has spread to nearby organs

• If it has invaded nearby lymph nodes

• Whether the cancer has spread to faraway organs

Cancer is the unusual growth of body cells. Problems begin when these cancer cells prevent healthy cells from doing their job. Many people think of cancer as having four stages, numbered one through four, but there are actually five stages. Stage 0 is cancer in situ, which literally means “in place.” Stage 0 cancers remain in the place where they began. Stage 0 cancers are highly curable with surgery.

Stage 1, or early stage, cancers are small and have not invaded nearby tissue or spread to nearby lymph nodes. Stage 2 and 3 cancers are larger, and have spread to lymph nodes and nearby tissues, but these cancers have not gone to faraway organs. Stage 4 cancer has spread to distant locations within the body.

Every person with cancer deserves the finest care, even in the last stages of this disease. Dr. Anton Bilchik is one of the nation’s leading cancer surgeons, providing expert care for pancreatic, liver, and other types of cancers. Contact Dr. Bilchik for more information on cancer staging and how treatment might prevent the advancement of cancer growth.