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Stage 1 vs. Stage 4 Cancer: What’s the Difference?
By Raveena M Prakash
Cancer is a life-threatening and complex disease. This is the second most common cause of death across the world. Being diagnosed with cancer is a spine-shivering moment for any normal person. Many cancer patients mention their stages, but do you know what exactly it means when someone says they are in stage 1 cancer or stage 4 cancer? The differences between these two stages are highly different from one another. Cancer staging, or stages of cancer, indicates a patient’s exact growth or size of tumor in their body. Understanding the difference between stage 1 and stage 4 can help patients and their caregivers.
In this article, we’ll discover more about the difference between stage 1 vs.stage 4, treatment options, prognosis, and the importance of early detection!
What is cancer staging?
Cancer staging is an important process to analyze the extent of cancer growth and its spread in the patient’s body. An oncologist often uses cancer staging to diagnose and treat cancer in many patients. Cancer staging helps to measure the treatment plans and their results in cancer patients.
How is cancer staged?
Apart from diagnosing and finalizing treatment options, oncologists perform the cancer staging tests to find out some significant factors related to cancer.
These may include:
- Tumor’s growth and size
- Location of tumor
- Cancer’s spread to nearby tissues or distant organs
Oncologists often use one or more staging tests to diagnose or treat cancer in your body.
What is the difference between Stage 1 vs. Stage 4 Cancer
Stage 1 is also known as early-stage or localized cancer. In this stage, the cancer develops in the body, but it has not spread to nearby tissues or distant body parts. The tumor is small in size, and confined to the original area where it has started, and it hasn’t grown deeply into any nearby surrounding healthy tissues.
However, in stage 4, the cancer has started to spread to other parts of the body. In some cases, it might have spread to distant organs. This process is also known as metastasis. This type of cancer is popularly known as advanced or metastatic cancer. In this stage of cancer, it is often considered difficult to treat and not curable.
Even though an effective treatment such as palliative surgery and care helps patients to get relief from the symptoms of cancer. The symptoms may include discomfort and extreme pain. Patients who receive proper treatments and care in this stage easily improve their quality of life and extend their life expectancy.
Treatments for stage 1
Stage 1 is often referred to as early-stage cancer. The treatment options for this stage of cancer majorly depend on the type and location of cancer.
These may include:
- Surgery: Cancer surgeries are used to remove tumors in patients.
- Chemotherapy: In this stage, cancer hasn’t spread to nearby tissues or distant organs. Mild chemotherapy has been given to kill or destroy the cancer cells in the body. This is also known as systemic treatment; the chemodrugs flow through the bloodstream.
- Radiation therapy: This treatment method is used to cure or shrink the tumor in patients before the surgery. Radiation treatment is also given after the surgery to reduce the risk of recurrence in patients.
- Combination therapies: Your doctor might perform several treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, to avoid the risk of recurrence in patients.
Prognosis
This type of cancer is considered highly treatable and survivable with the support of effective treatments. Survival rates of this cancer can vary in patients based on several factors, including
- Age
- Gender
- Type of cancer
- Individual health conditions (before cancer treatments)
Examples
These may include:
- Stage 1 breast cancer
- Stage 1 lung cancer
- Stage 1 prostate cancer
- Stage 1 colorectal cancer
Treatments for stage 4
This stage of cancer is also referred to as metastatic cancer. This has spread from its origin location to distant organs or tissue in the body. In this stage, treatments are given to control the symptoms of cancer, improve the quality of life, and offer relief from pain.
Treatment options used for this type of cancer:
- Systemic drug treatments (targeted therapy): In this treatment method, oncologists use drugs to target cancer cells, which helps to block their growth and spread in the bodies. Examples: HER2 inhibitors for breast cancer and BRAF inhibitors for melanoma.
- Chemotherapy: This treatment option is used effectively in this stage of cancer to slow down the growth of cells. It's a popularly used treatment approach in an advanced stage of patients.
- Immunotherapy: It helps to stimulate the immune system of the patients to fight against cancer cells. This is an effective treatment used for advanced stages of cancer.
- Hormone therapy: This treatment option is used mostly for hormone-receptive positive cancer, mainly in breast cancer.
Prognosis
Stage 4 is considered the most advanced and severe stage of cancer, with the highest rate of mortality. The survival rate from this stage of cancer is lower than earlier stages of cancer.
Here are some of the factors influencing the prognosis of this cancer, including:
- Type of cancer
- Individual health conditions
- Treatment options
- Body’s response to treatment
- Metastasis
- Palliative care
Examples
These may include:
- Metastatic breast cancer
- Metastatic lung cancer
- Metastatic prostate cancer
- Metastatic colorectal cancer
- Metastatic Melanoma
Similarly, there are more types of advanced cancers found in people where the cancer has grown and spread to other body parts, including the liver, brain, bones, and more.
Key differences at a glance
Here is the key difference between stage 1 and stage 4 cancer.
Characteristics | Stage 1 Cancer | Stage 4 Cancer |
|---|---|---|
Tumor size | Small in size | Large in size |
Spread of tumor | Localized | Metastatasis /Distant Metastatasis |
Treatment focus | Cure | Controlling symptoms or palliative care |
Survival rate | High | Lower/ variable |
Intensity of care | Minimal to moderate | High and continuous |
Consult Today
Stage 1 and stage 4 cancer are significantly different from one another, not just in their symptoms but also in their treatment plans and their success rates. Additionally, they might affect the patient both physically and emotionally in terms of treatments and their outcomes. Understanding these differences helps patients and their family caregivers make more informed decisions and be prepared to be part of the cancer treatment journey.
At Oncare, we offer high-quality cancer treatments, expert consultation and diagnosis, and tests at affordable price packages. We also offer proper guidance to our cancer patients before or after starting any major cancer treatments.
If you or any loved ones of yours are diagnosed with cancer or experiencing any symptoms of cancer, then visit Oncare Cancer Center today and book an appointment with our cancer specialists! Get an estimated cost of cancer treatments.
Frequently Asked Questions
These may include:
- In situ: This is a stage 0 cancer. In this stage, abnormal or cancerous cells haven’t spread into other body parts.
- Localized: In this stage, there are several types of cancer cells present. They haven’t spread beyond the primary tumor, where cancer started.
- Regional: In this stage, cancer cells spread from the primary tumor to nearby tissues, for example, lymph nodes or organs.
- Distant: In this stage, cancer cells spread from the primary tumor to more distant body parts.
- Unknown: There’s not enough information received to determine the stage of cancer.
Cancer staging is a way to analyze the extent of cancer growth in the body. Cancer staging helps to analyze and measure the treatment outcomes and its success rate.
This is a common system used to prevent the spread of cancer.
- T: It describes the size of the tumor and any spread into the nearby tissues in patients.
- N: This describes the spread of cancer to nearby lymph in the body.
- M: It describes metastasis, this also shows the spread of cancer to other parts of the body.
There are some tests and physical examinations used to analyze the stage of cancer patients; these may include
- Computed Tomography
- Positron emission tomography
- Endoscopy
- Biopsy
- Blood tests for cancer