What are the signs that breast cancer has spread?
How does cancer spread from one person to another?
What are the 3 ways cancer can spread?
The stage of a cancer is how big it is and whether it has spread
The stage of a cancer is how big it is and whether it has spread. The tests and scans you have had to diagnose bowel cancer will tell your doctors more about the stage of the cancer. This is important because treatment decisions may be based on the stage.
The stage of a cancer describes its size and whether it has spread. Knowing the stage of the cancer helps doctors decide on the best treatment for you. The most commonly used staging system is the TNM system.
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TNM staging system
T describes how far the tumor has grown into the wall of the bowel, and whether it has grown into nearby tissues or organs.
N describes whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes.
M describes whether the cancer has spread to another part of the body such as the liver or lungs (secondary or metastatic cancer).
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T – Tumor
The bowel wall is made up of layers of different tissues.
This means the cancer is at its earliest stage (in situ). It is growing into the mucosa but no further.
T1 means the tumor is only in the inner layer of the bowel (submucosa).
T2 means the tumor has grown into the muscle layer of the bowel wall but no further.
T3 means the tumor has grown into the outer lining of the bowel wall (serosa) but no further.
T4 means the tumor has grown through the outer layer of the bowel wall (serosa) and through the membrane covering the outside of the bowel wall (peritoneum).
- T4a means it has grown into other nearby structures, such as other parts of the bowel or other organs or body structures.
- T4b means the tumor has caused a hole in the bowel wall (perforation) and cancer cells have spread outside the bowel.
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Stages
Stage 0
The cancer is at its earliest stage and is only in the mucosa (Tis N0 M0).
Stage 1
The cancer has grown into the submucosa or muscle but has not spread to the lymph nodes or elsewhere (T1 N0 M0 or T2 N0 M0).
Stage 2
The cancer has grown through the muscle wall or through the outer layer of the bowel, and may be growing into tissues nearby. The cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes or elsewhere (T3 N0 M0 or T4 N0 M0).
Stage 3
The tumor is any size and has spread to lymph nodes nearby, but has not spread anywhere else in the body (Any T N1 MO or Any T N2 M0).
Stage 4
The tumor is any size. It may have spread to nearby lymph nodes. The cancer has spread to other parts of the body such as the liver or lungs (Any T Any N M1).
Where is the first place breast cancer spreads?
The lymph nodes under your arm, inside your breast, and near your collarbone are among the first places breast cancer spreads. It’s “metastatic” if it spreads beyond these small glands to other parts of your body. When you’re diagnosed with breast cancer, your doctor should check lymph nodes near the tumor to see if they’re affected. The lymph system helps drain bacteria and other harmful things from your body. You might not notice symptoms if your breast cancer is in these nodes. Depending on the specific parts of the body affected, the symptoms of metastatic breast cancer can vary.
Symptoms of breast cancer in a lung
- Pain in the affected lung.
- Wheezing and shortness of breath.
- Persistent coughing and other symptoms similar to those produced by the common cold and flu.
- Coughing up mucus or blood.
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What are the signs that breast cancer has spread?
Signs that breast cancer has spread to the bones
The main symptoms of secondary breast cancer in the bone include:
- Pain in your bones, which may get worse when lying down
- Bone fractures (breaks)
Signs that breast cancer has spread to the lungs
Symptoms of secondary breast cancer in the lungs include:
- Breathlessness
- A cough that doesn’t go away
- Pain or tightness in the chest that doesn’t go away
Signs that breast cancer has spread to the liver
Symptoms of secondary breast cancer in the liver include:
- Pain
- Hiccups
- A build-up of fluid in the abdomen (ascites)
- A general feeling of being unwell
- Itching and jaundice
Signs that breast cancer has spread to the brain
Symptoms of secondary breast cancer in the brain include:
- Headache
- Nausea (feeling sick) and vomiting (being sick)
- Weakness or feeling numb down one side of the body
- Unsteadiness or loss of balance and co-ordination
- Seizures (fits)
- Difficulty with speech
- Problems with vision
- Changes in behavior, mood or personality
- Confusion
- Memory problems
Signs that breast cancer has spread to the skin
Symptoms of secondary breast cancer in the skin include:
- A change in the color of the skin
- A persistent rash
- A firm, painless nodule (small lump) or multiple nodules of different sizes
- Lymphoedema (swelling of the arm, hand or breast area)
- Pain
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Odour (smell)
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How does cancer spread from one person to another?
A healthy person cannot “catch” cancer from someone who has it. There is no evidence that close contact or things like sex, kissing, touching, sharing meals, or breathing the same air can spread cancer from one person to another.
Cancer cells from one person are generally unable to live in the body of another healthy person. A healthy person’s immune system recognizes foreign cells and destroys them, including cancer cells from another person.
What are the 3 ways cancer can spread?
here are three primary ways tumors can spread to distant organs:
- Through the circulatory (blood) system (hematogenous)
- Through the lymphatic system
- Through the body wall into the abdominal and chest cavities (transcoelomic).
The circulatory system is the primary route of spread to distant organs, while lymphatic vessels provide a route to local lymph nodes, after which metastases often travel through the blood, While the circulatory system appears to be the most common route, the extent of lymphatic versus hematogenous spread appears to depend on the origin and location of the primary tumor. For example, bone and soft tissue tumors (sarcomas) spread primarily through the blood, while melanoma, breast, lung and gastrointestinal tumors spread through the lymphatic system. Transcoelomic spread is fairly uncommon, and appears to be restricted to mesotheliomas and ovarian carcinomas.
In order for tumor cells to gain access to lymphatic or blood vessels, tumors need to promote the growth of these vessels into and around the tumor. Growth of blood vessels is called angiogenesis, and growth of lymphatic vessels is lymphangiogenesis.
The Lymphatic System
The lymphatic system plays an important role in controlling the movement of fluid throughout the body. Specifically the lymphatic system controls the flow of lymph, a colorless fluid containing oxygen, proteins, sugar (glucose) and lymphocytes (cyte=cell). There are some similarities and differences between circulatory system and the lymphatic system.
Small lymphatic vessels merge into larger ones and these large vessels eventually empty into lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are kidney bean shaped tissues that are found in grape-like clusters in several locations around the body. Lymph nodes are sites of immune system activation and immune cell proliferation (growth). The fluid in this extensive network flows throughout the body, much like the blood supply. It is the movement of cancer cells into the lymphatic system, specifically the lymph nodes, that is used in the detection of metastatic disease. The staging of cancer is discussed in more detail in the Diagnosis and Detection section.
The Anatomic Model
In the anatomic model of metastsis, secondary tumors occur in the organs which they encounter first during their dissemination from the primary tumor. This scenario appears to occur in regional metastases, where tumor cells gain access to nearby tissue or lymph nodes through the blood or lymphatic circulation. For example, liver metastasis is a major occurrence in patients with colorectal cancer. In this case, the capillary bed of the liver is the first encountered by the tumor cells after leaving the colon, and the liver seems to provide a suitable environment for the growth of these secondary tumors. However, metastasis to distant organs occurs through a different mechanism
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