Each year, approximately 20 million people receive a cancer diagnosis. During this time, patients are introduced to the concept of cancer staging, a system that typically assigns a number from one to four to describe the extent of their cancer. But what do these numbers mean?
Understanding the stage of cancer can be confusing. TED-Ed’s latest video breaks down the three critical variables that determine a cancer’s stage:
- Tumor Size (T): How large is the primary tumor?
- Lymph Nodes (N): Has the cancer spread to nearby lymph nodes?
- Metastasis (M): Has the cancer spread to other body parts?
Different types of cancer can impact these stages in various ways. Watch the TED-Ed video to get a clearer picture of how these factors come together to form a stage number and what that means for treatment and prognosis.
[Ted Ed]