Breast cancer survival rates have been improving significantly over the past 20 years. With the promotion of breast cancer screening and early identification of Breast Cancer Stages, thousands of women are successfully treated than ever before. Breast cancer survival rate is pegged on an average of five-year survival. Five years is commonly used since one-year survival only gives a very short-term view of breast cancer prognosis, while a ten-year survival rate and beyond would be looking at a long period since diagnosis. In 2001-2003, breast cancer trends have shown that 80% of women diagnosed with breast cancer has five-year survival rate as compared to the 52% diagnosed in 1971-1975.

Breast cancer statistics have shown that breast cancer comes second to skin cancer as one of the most common types of cancer in terms of recorded new cases every year. In the United States, breast cancer incidence in women is 1 in 8 or about 13%. In 2008, there is an estimated 182, 460 new cases of invasive breast cancer was expected to be diagnosed while 67, 770 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer was recorded.

Breast cancer prognosis through accurate determination of early breast cancer stages has significantly improved over the years. As of 2008, it was recorded that about 2.5 million women in the United States has survived breast cancer. Breast cancer awareness and screening has greatly influenced a positive prognosis for breast cancer and will hopefully continue to improve in the coming years.

The discovery of a lump or a lesion through screening demands further tests to help determine the size and the degree to where it has spread. The process that provides information about the extent of the disease is called staging. Breast cancer stages are ranged from 0 - IV, based on the size of the tumor and whether the cancer has spread to the nearby lymph nodes. Breast cancer staging will help with treatment planning and an understanding on what most likely is its prognosis or outcome.

STAGE 0 -  Stage 0 breast cancer shows no evidence of cancer cells and this is used to describe non-invasive breast cancers, such as DCIS.

STAGE I - Stage I is used to describe invasive breast cancer. In this stage, there is invasion of normal tissues but no lymph nodes are involved. The tumor measures up to 2 centimeters.

STAGE II - Stage II breast cancer stage is divided into two subcategories:

STAGE IIA - this describes invasive breast cancer where:

• cancer cells are found in the axillary lymph nodes.
• there is no tumor found in the breast or if there is, it measures 2 centimeters or less.
• There is a tumor that is more than 2 centimeters but is less than 5 centimeters but has not spread to the axillary lymph nodes.

STAGE IIB - describes breast cancer with:

• a tumor that can be more than 2 centimeter but is less than 5 centimeters and has spread to the axillary lymph nodes.
• It can also be a tumor that is larger than 5 centimeters but has not spread anywhere near the axilary lymph nodes.

STAGE III - Breast cancer stage III is divided into three subcategories:

STAGE IIIA - is invasive breast cancer, which may present as:

• no tumor in breast, cancer cells are clumped together in axillary lymph nodes or may have spread to lymph nodes near breastbones, or cancer cells sticking to other body structures
• Tumor is 5 centimeters or less and which spread to lymph nodes in the axillary region, or are sticking to other body structures
• Tumor is bigger than 5 centimeters, has spread to axillary lymph nodes, or are sticking to other body structures

STAGE IIIB - is invasive breast cancer which present as:

• a tumor of any size, and which has spread to the skin of the breast or the chest wall.
• Cancer cells that have spread to the axilary or breast bone lymph nodes and are clumped together or they may be sticking to other structures

STAGE IIIC - is invasive breast cancer where:

• there is no sign of cancer or if there is a tumor, it is of any size, and may have spread to the chest wall or the skin of the breast
• the cancer cells have spread to the lymph nodes near the collar bone
• the cancer has spread to lymph nodes near the axillary or the breast bone

STAGE IV - stage IV breast cancer is invasive cancer that has spread to other body organs such as the lungs, liver, brain or the bones. Metastatic cancer is considered stage IV.

Early identification and accurate Breast Cancer Stages have made it possible to improve the prognosis of this fatal disease and to focus on the best breast cancer treatment.