What are the various stages of Skin Cancer?
By: Editorial Team, National Institute of Health
If the biopsy shows that you have cancer, your doctor needs to know the extent (stage) of the disease. In very few cases, the doctor may check your lymph nodes to stage the cancer.
The stage is based on:
- The size of the growth
- How deeply it has grown beneath the top layer of skin
- Whether it has spread to nearby lymph nodes or to other parts of the body
These are the stages of skin cancer:
- Stage 0: The cancer involves only the top layer of skin. It is carcinoma in situ.
- Stage I: The growth is 2 centimeters wide (three-quarters of an inch) or smaller.
- Stage II: The growth is larger than 2 centimeters wide (three-quarters of an inch).
- Stage III: The cancer has spread below the skin to cartilage, muscle, bone, or to nearby lymph nodes. It has not spread to other places in the body.
- Stage IV: The cancer has spread to other places in the body.
This content is sourced from National Institute of Health. Though all possible measures have been taken to ensure accuracy, reliability, timeliness and authenticity of the information, Onlymyhealth or the content provider assumes no liability for the same. Using any information of this website is at the viewers’ risk.
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- sunil (08 Sep 2011)want.to.know.about.mouth.cancer.
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