There are four stages of breast cancer, from stage 1 to stage 4. In stage 1, the cancer is least severe and the chance of recovery is still high. However, at stage 4, the malignant tumor has spread to other parts of the body (such as the lungs, skin, bones, liver, brain, or distant lymph nodes) and is very difficult to cure. Thus, this stage is also known as advanced or metastatic stage. The cancer might be already at the advanced stage when it is first discovered, but it can also be a reappearance of previous breast cancer that has already affected other parts of the body. It is a very serious condition and requires focused treatments. Stage 4 breast cancer prognosis involves the prediction of outcome and the chance of survival that are based on other patients' experiences. Here are the prognosis factors of a stage 4 breast cancer:

1. The first factor is the survival tendency. As a matter of a fact, the five-year survival rate for patients suffering from metastatic breast cancer is only 20 percent. Thus, the aim of the treatment is a long term survival of the patient, since the cancer at this stage is incurable.

2. Hormonal factors also play an important role. Estrogen and progesterone that can be found in birth control medications or hormone replacement therapy can actually cause the cancerous cells to grow. A hormone receptor status test will show whether or not any of these hormones are causing the growth of the malignant tumor. If the patient is estrogen receptor positive (ER+) or progesterone receptor positive (PR+), the cancer should respond well to hormone suppression treatments. Moreover, the three-year survival rate for ER+/PR+ patients reaches 97 percent while the survival rate for ER-/PR- patients is only 83 percent.

3. Histology is another important factor since it determines the degree of aggressiveness of the disease by identifying the types of cancer cells found in the tumor. For instance, the type of breast cancer known as tubular adenocarcinoma is considered as the most survivable. On the other hand, inflammatory breast cancer is very aggressive and the five-year survival rate for stage 4 is only about 11 percent.

4. Other factors that affect the stage 4 breast cancer prognosis and survival rates are the areas in which the cancer has spread, the size of the tumor, age and race factor, genetic history, response to treatment such as chemotherapy, biological therapy, clinical trials, medications, radiation therapy and surgery.

Figuring out stage 4 breast cancer prognosis is crucial. It can help finding out the chance of survival of the patient and the treatment required.

By Andy Mahesa

Colon cancer is the type of cancer that usually has no symptoms. If colon cancer symptoms do appear in a person, it will be a little too late, because he/ she is probably in a very advanced stage of colon cancer.

Colon cancer has five stages. Each colon cancer stage actually shows how far the cancer has spread. There are many ways to diagnose a colon cancer case, even in its most advanced stage. Colonoscopy, barium enema and even a digital rectum exam can tell a doctor if indeed you are suffering from colon cancer or polyps.

First stage in colon cancer is stage 0. In this colon cancer stage you can think of yourself as a very lucky person, because it can be cured. In this colon cancer stage, the disease has not spread beyond your colon or rectum. Treatment in this case is surgery. The part of your colon that has been affected will be removed. If you have a larger tumor, a resection might be the proper treatment for your colon cancer case.

The second colon cancer stage is known as stage 1. In this case, the cancer has not spread beyond the colon, but the cancer has grown through a few layers of your colon. Resection is the used treatments is this colon cancer stage. Stage 2 is the next step in colon cancer. This time the disease has gone through the walls of your colon and affected the nearest tissues. In this colon cancer stage, the lymph nodes have not been reached yet. Resection is the only known treatment if you find yourself in this colon cancer stage. Chemotherapy can also be used in this colon cancer stage.

Next is stage 3 colon cancer. This is thought as an advanced stage. The lymph nodes are now affected by the disease. Other parts of your body have not been yet affected when suffering from stage 3 colon cancer. Sectional surgery is the right treatment at this point. Chemotherapy is then used to reduce recurrence. Radiation therapy can also be used in this colon cancer stage.

The last and most serious colon cancer stage is 4. In this case, the disease has reached as far as the lungs, ovaries and liver. When you have reached the stage, surgery is only used to relive the symptoms or prevent any further complications. In this case, the colon cancer can not be cured or even removed through surgery.

Colon Cancer and Nutrition
Colon Cancer also known Colorectal cancer. Colon cancer 2nd most deaths for cancers in the US. Colon cancer is cancer that starts in the large intestine (colon) or the rectum (end of the colon). The colon is the part of the digestive system where the waste material is stored. Together, they form a long, muscular tube called the large intestine (also known as the large bowel). Tumors of the colon and rectum are growths arising from the inner wall of the large intestine. Benign tumors of the large intestine are called polyps. Cancer of the colon or rectum is also called colorectal cancer. It is the third most common form of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the Western world. Colorectal cancer causes 655,000 deaths worldwide per year.Many colorectal cancers are thought to arise from adenomatous polyps in the colon. These mushroom-like growths are usually benign, but some may develop into cancer over time.

Colon cancer often causes no symptoms until it has reached a relatively advanced stage. Thus, many organizations recommend periodic screening for the disease with fecal occult blood testing and colonoscopy. In countries where the people have adopted western diets, the incidence of colorectal cancer is increasing. Most cases of colon cancer begin as small, noncancerous (benign) clumps of cells called adenomatous polyps. Polyps of the colon and rectum are almost always benign and usually produce no symptoms. They may, however, cause painless rectal bleeding or bleeding not apparent to the naked eye. Polyps greater than 1 centimeter have a greater cancer risk associated with them than polyps under 1 centimeter. Polyps with atypia or dysplasia are also more likely to progress on to colon cancer. The risk of cancer is much higher in sessile villous adenomas than in pedunculated tubular adenomas. Cancer is found in 40% of villous adenomas, as compared to 15% in tubular adenomas.

Chemotherapy is also used to treat patients with stage IV colon cancer. Surgery remains the primary treatment while chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy may be recommended depending on the individual patient's staging. High-fiber foods help move waste through your digestive tract faster, so harmful substances don’t have much contact with the lining of the intestine. High-fiber foods are also rich in phytonutrients, which appear to protect against several forms of cancer. Calcium and vitamin D also seem to help protect against colorectal cancer. The jury is still out on antioxidants and the prevention of colorectal cancer. Taking antioxidants, such as vitamin C or carotenoids, may reduce cancer risk but other studies have failed to back up these results. Vegetables high in folate, like leafy greens, seem to offer particular protection from colon cancer, especially for those who drink alcohol. Cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli and cauliflower, also contain phytochemicals that may prevent damage to colon cells.

Colon Cancer Treatment and Nutrition Tips
1. Chemotherapy is also used to treat patients with stage IV colon cancer.
2. Radiotherapy may be recommended Treatment fot colon cancer.
3. High-fiber foods help move waste through your digestive tract faster.
4. Calcium and vitamin D also seem to help protect against colorectal cancer.
5. Taking antioxidants, such as vitamin C or carotenoids, may reduce cancer risk but other studies have failed to back up these results.
6. Vegetables high in folate, like leafy greens, seem to offer particular protection from colon cancer, especially for those who drink alcohol.
7. Cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli and cauliflower, also contain phytochemicals that may prevent damage to colon cells.

If you want to know the latest prostate cancer news you will have to use the Internet to get this information. Although the Web may be a difficult place at times to locate specific information, there are ways to get the latest prostate cancer treatment news right from your computer. I thought of giving you some of the prostate cancer news but it would be yesterday's news so to speak and be of little value as time wore on. Instead, here are a few ideas on finding the latest prostate cancer treatment news yourself anytime you want to.

To get started you will need to visit one of the larger search engines, like MSN, Yahoo.com, or Google and will begin a search for news specific information. Although you may have use a search engine to find things on the Web, many search engines also have an option to look for news. By selecting news, you're limiting your search to only those sites that have the latest information you may be looking for.

So once on the search engine home page and after selecting a news type search, you're ready to begin locating your prostate cancer treatment information. After doing that, then type in the information in the space provided. To refine our search to get the latest news on prostate cancer treatments, you would enter the following into the box "prostate cancer" + "new treatment " then hit enter.

Be certain to use the quotes are you will get a lot more news that isn't nearly as targeted as our interest is only in new treatments for prostate cancer. Without the quotes, we may get information on all types of cancer and all treatments, no matter new. The quote marks are important, so that the search engine will know that you want new treatments concerning prostate cancer.

The + between the prostate cancer in new treatment phrases tells your computer system to bring you news that has "prostate cancer" AND "new treatment" in the article. This is the absolutely best way to find prostate cancer news on the Internet.

Another option is to manually review popular news sites such as www.healthfinder.gov and health.yahoo.com/.

If you want your news on any new treatments for prostate cancer to be delivered to your system automatically, consider using a news aggregator and RSS feed. This bit of technology can provide regular updates on any new prostate cancer treatment that's mentioned in the news or health journals and deliver about information write to your desktop.

Wikipedia, a popular online encyclopedia has a with of news aggregators available for your use at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search/List_of_news_aggregators.

There are of course the old media and methods of staying updated about new treatment options. Of course, this means reviewing newspapers, magazines and journals manually. The good news once again however, is that a news aggregator can do this review of all online editions of these resources

So, although you may think the Web is nothing more than advertisements and spam e-mail, you will find that its search capabilities can provide a fantastic array of useful information on any subject, including new prostate cancer treatments and advancements.

Here's the one fact that all men need to understand:
Early prostate cancer detection is the difference between living and dying as far as prostate cancer is concerned.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that cancer is one of the leading causes of death. What you may not have realized is that cancer is the second leading cause of death for men and prostate cancer is a very major contributor.

The reason for this is that prostate cancer can expand beyond the prostate gland and travel to other parts of the body. So a highly treatable cancer in the prostate is ignored and kill it grows into other parts of the body and becomes much more deadly.

The sad part is that doctors are able to detect prostate cancer in its very early stages. To complicate matters however, there are a few symptoms that are directly associated with prostate cancer alone. This in turn causes many men to simply ignore common symptoms until prostate cancer grows beyond the gland and becomes a seriously life threatening cancer.

The good news is that this disease is a slow progressive type of cancer while still localized in the prostate. A person can have prostate cancer for years and not know it if they don't undergo several very simple diagnostic tests. Men with no family history of prostate cancer should be tested yearly. Black men and those with a family member who has had prostate cancer should consider annual testing at age 40.

Prostate cancer screening tests are simple and inexpensive.
+ Digital Rectal Examination
+ PSA Blood test. Measures levels of Prostate-Specific Antigen a key prostate cancer marker.

Your chance of survival and cure is directly related to early detection, diagnosis and treatment. Consistent testing will dramatically increase the chances of early detection before it becomes serious.

Another benefit of early detection is that the treatment options are much less radical. Earlier treatment methods are much more successful in not only curing prostate cancer but also limiting the complications and side effects of more aggressive treatment options.

If you haven't been insisting on a prostate exam and blood test for prostate cancer indicators, you owe it to yourself and your family to start now. Prostate cancer is a serious illness that needs to be identified as soon as possible.

So at your next annual physical, make certain that basic prostate cancer screening tests are done.

Breast cancer stages are based on whether the cancer is invasive or non-invasive, whether the lymph nodes have been affected, whether the cancer cells have already spread beyond the breast, and the size of the tumor.

The purpose of identifying the stage in breast cancer is to organize the different factors and features of the cancer. In organizing the factors involved, the prognosis or the most likely outcome of the disease will be identified. The doctor can also provide the patient with the best treatment guide for the disease.

Stage 0. In this stage, the breast cancer is non-invasive. It just simply means that there is no sign of non-cancerous abnormal cells or cancerous cells getting out of the part of the breast where they started. These cells have not yet invaded other neighboring normal tissues in the breast.

Stage 1.
In this stage, the breast cancer is said to be invasive. The cancer cells are already breaking out of the part of the breast where they started and they have already invaded neighboring normal tissues. But in Stage 1, the lymph nodes are not affected or involved and the tumor measures up to 2 centimeters.

Stage 2.
Stage 2 is described as invasive breast cancer and is subdivided into two categories: Stage 2A and Stage 2B. In Stage 2A, there is no tumor in the breast but a 2 centimeters or less tumor can be found scattered in the axillaries lymph nodes, which is the lymph node found under the arm. Another case of Stage 2A is that, the tumor is larger than 2 centimeters but not more than 5 centimeters and has not spread in the axillaries lymph nodes. In stage 2B, the tumor is also larger than 2 centimeters but not more than 5 and has already spread to the axillaries lymph nodes or if the tumor is larger than 5 centimeters, the tumor has not yet spread the axillaries lymph nodes.

Stage 3.
Stage 3 is described as one of the invasive breast cancer stages and is subdivided into 3 categories: Stage 3A, Stage 3B and Stage 3C. In Stage 3A, there is no tumor in the breast but it is found in the axillaries lymph nodes or the lymph nodes near the breast bone. In Stage 3B, the tumor may be of any size and found in the lymph nodes under the arm or near the breastbone, chest wall and/or skin of the breast, clustered together or sticking to other structures. In Stage 3C, there can still be no sign of cancer in the breast. The tumor may be of any size and found to be spread to the chest wall, lymph nodes above or below the collarbone, lymph nodes under the arm or breastbone.

Stage 4.
Stage 4 is described as one of the invasive breast cancer stages in which the cancer has already spread to other organs of the body; usually the brain, lungs, liver or bone.

Importance of Knowing Breast Cancer Stages
Determining the breast cancer stages is important since it enables the patient and doctor to identify the treatment necessary for one’s condition. Also, it is essential in assessing the risk of the given condition and what lifestyle changes the patient can do to improve their health.

Identifying a Breast Cancer's Stage
When talking about breast cancer stages, it is aimed at describing the extent of the cancer in the body. So, if you ask how a breast cancer is staged, doctors often start to classify whether it is invasive or non-invasive. Other factors considered are the tumor size, number of nymph modes involved, and what other parts of the body it has managed to affect.

Determining a cancer's stage is helpful during prognosis and deciding on a treatment option. To determine the stage, a few standard procedures are done by the doctor on a patient. They undergo physical exam and biopsy to acquire the data needed by the doctor for the diagnosis.

If needed, further tests are also conducted such as imaging tests that include x-ray, bone scans, mammograms for the breasts, CT scans, positron emission tomography (PET), and magnetic resonance imaging.

What Are the Breast Cancer Stages?
Take note of the features and extent of the cancer in each of the stages:

Breast Cancer Stage 0
This stage renders the case of breast cancer to be non-invasive. At this point of the breast cancer, cancer or non-cancerous cells cannot be detected yet. The abnormal cells are still at the stage wherein they try to spread out within the specific part of the breast where the cells are rooted.

Breast Cancer Stage I
Once the breast cancer enters this stage, it is now categorized as an invasive type of breast cancer. Meaning, the cancer cells have now worked their way towards the neighboring tissues. Stage I breast cancer also exhibit the following characteristics:
• The cancerous tumor has reached the size of 2 centimeters.
• No lymph modes are affected.

Breast Cancer Stage II
For this particular stage of breast cancer, it is also known as an invasive type of cancer and is broken down into two more categories:

1) Stage IIA
Even in this particular stage, the conditions can be different:
• A tumor does not exist in the breast but cancerous cells are detected in the lymph nodes.
• A tumor could exist but measures less than 2 centimeters;
• The tumor has expanded beyond 2 centimeters but less than 5 centimeters without reaching the lymph nodes.

2) Stage IIB
This invasive level of the cancer is recognized as either one of the following:
• The tumor exceeds 2 centimeters in size but less than 5 centimeters, while also reaching the lymph nodes.
• The tumor is more than 5 centimeters in size but has not yet reached the axillaries lymph nodes.

Breast Cancer Stage III
1) Stage IIIA
In this stage, the tumor could either be detected or not. Aside from the axillaries lymph nodes, cancer can also stick to other structures outside of the lymph nodes and become clumped together.

2) Stage IIIB
In this stage, the tumor can grow in size and affect other areas of the body outside of the actual breast, whether the chest wall or skin of the breast. This is the stage wherein inflammatory breast cancer takes place.

3) Stage IIIC
In some cases, sign of breast cancer might not be detectable yet. However, the tumor could already be spreading towards the breast skin, chest wall, and below your collarbone.

Breast Cancer Stage IV
In this level, the cancerous cells have managed to spread to various organs of the body. Therefore, the cancer is no longer restricted on the breast and lymph nodes, which signifies the initial diagnosis of breast cancer. The reason why diagnosis is done only during this stage is because cancerous cells were not detected while still within the breast.

Recognizing breast cancer stages does more than just identifying treatment options, but also enables doctors and patients to understand the developmental pattern of the disease.