When you are diagnosed with stage three breast cancer it typically refers to a relatively large tumor, which may have invaded nearby skin or muscle tissue. It may also mean that lymph nodes near your breast and/or under your armpit are involved.
Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a medical advisor to SurvivorNet and a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, adds “it also means that most women who’ve been diagnosed with stage three cancer are going to end up needing chemotherapy and if their tumor is hormone receptor positive, likely aggressive hormone therapy, as well.”
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