There are different kinds of cancer. The type of cancer depends on the organ; the cancer starts in, the kind of cell it is derived from and the appearance of the cancer cells. Cancer begins when a cell begins dividing uncontrollably taking a form of a visible mass or tumor. This initial tumor is called the "primary" tumor.

Cells from the primary tumor can break off and lodge elsewhere in the body where they then grow into secondary tumors. This process is called "metastasis" and a cancer, which has spread to other organs, is called "metastatic." Being diagnosed with cancer is a process. It is many times not easy until a pathologist has examined a sample of your tumor from surgery or a biopsy, the exact type of cancer may not be known.

Cancer Stage is a system from which you can find out how far cancer has spread anatomically. Staging is the process physicians use to assess the size and location of a patient's cancer. Identifying the cancer stage is one of the most important factors in selecting treatment options.

Several tests may be performed to help find the cancer stage including clinical exams, biopsy, and certain imaging tests such as a chest x-ray, mammogram, bone scan, CT scan, and MRI scan. The concept of stage is applicable to almost all cancers except for most forms of leukemia. For most solid tumors, there are two related cancer-staging systems, the Overall Stage Grouping, and the TNM system.

Overall Stage Groupings: In this system, cases are grouped into four cancer stages denoted by Roman numerals I through IV. In cancer stage I, cancers are small localized cancers that are curable. Cancer stage IV represents metastatic cancer. II and III cancer stage are advanced locally with involvement of local lymph nodes. The prognosis for an every stage also depends on what is the kind of cancer.

TNM Staging: For solid tumors, stages I-IV is defined in more detailed staging system called the "TNM" system. TNM stands for Tumor, Nodes, and Metastases. Each of these is categorized separately and classified with a number to give the total cancer stage. For example a T1N1M0 cancer stage means the patient has a T1 tumor, N1 lymph node involvement, and no distant metastases.
• T stands for Tumor and classifies the extent of the primary tumor, and is normally given as T0 through T4. T0 represents a tumor that has not even started to invade the local tissues.
• N are Lymph Nodes, which classifies the amount of regional lymph node involvement. It is important to understand that only the lymph nodes draining the area of the primary tumor are considered.
• M is Metastasis, which is either M0 if there are no metastases or M1 if there are metastases. T and N are different for each different kind of cancer.


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