If you have lung cancer, you might be told it’s at a certain stage. This describes whether or not it has spread to other parts of your body, and how far.
Knowing the stage of the disease helps you and your doctors to decide on the best treatment for you.
Non–small cell lung cancer is divided into four stages, depending on whether the cancer has spread to other areas of the body:
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Occult (hidden) Stage: cancer cells are found in sputum which is a thick liquid coughed up from the lungs.
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Stage 0: the cancer is small and has not spread.
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Stages I – 3: these involve the cancer increasing in size, and in stages 2-3 spreading to nearby lymph nodes.
Stage 4: the cancer may have spread to other parts of the body. Small cell lung cancer is divided into two stages for the purposes of treatment:
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Limited stage: the cancer is in only 1 side of the chest (possibly including lymph nodes).
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Extensive stage: the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
With all stages of lung cancer, there is plenty of treatment and support that can help you, including traditional medicine and practices like ceremony and being on Country.