After cancer is found, you will have many other special blood tests, x-rays and medical tests.
All of these tests help the doctor know where the cancer is in your body. This is called ‘staging’ the cancer.
The stage of a cancer is based on:
- the size of the original cancer (this is called the primary cancer)
- if the cancer has grown into nearby areas
- if the cancer has spread into nearby lymph nodes
- if the cancer has spread (metastasized) to other organs of the body
Staging can take time. Often people are anxious to begin treatment quickly. Try not to worry that the staging tests are taking a lot of time. Staging the cancer is important so you and your health care team can decide which treatment is best for you.
For example, if the cancer is found only in one spot, treatment may be surgery or radiation since they are a ‘local’ treatment. If the cancer is found in many places in the body, chemotherapy may be the better treatment since it treats cancer cells in all parts the body.
Staging is also the way cancer care providers talk to each other about a patient’s cancer. Staging can help researchers and doctors learn more about what to expect and how to care for patients with the same stage of cancer. The more doctors know, the more information they are able provide you with during your cancer experience.
For additional information, please see the website of the American Cancer Society - Staging
