Cancer Stages

[Tekton]

I've been wondering about this for a while. If you are given stage 3 grade at dx but later down the road your cancer spreads to distant bones or organs why doesn't your stage grade change? I remember being told it doesn't.

Second, and this one really messes with my mind; if my cancer had been caught way earlier and not involved more than a tiny little bit of my prostate at dx would it still have been Gleason 9?

Any thoughts?

[Tall_Allen]

You are confusing two different things. There is no such thing as "stage grade" - there is stage and there is grade. Stage refers to where the cancer is. One is re-staged when distant mets are discovered. So your stage T3 becomes stage M1. The AJCC prognostic Grouping system uses roman numerals - so stage III (stage T3a or stage T3b) becomes stage IV when distant mets are discovered.

There is evidence that higher GRADE cancers start out as higher grade. The progenitor cells may give rise to cancers of multiple grades.

[charlesmeyers1964]

it does tall allen. i've been stage 4 for quite some time. last year i had a bone scan, and a cat scan and my cancer did spread. the radiologist told me i have at least 5 yrs before i should be concern. i went to stage 4. i've been fighting this for 10 yrs and on a new program so don't worry about the stages just make sure u google your type what has been done to u and please ask many questions until u are fully satisfied

[charlesmeyers1964]

personally i wouldn't worry about grade or stage its what docs look at not pts. if its early stages lots of options and if not working go to the next treatment.

[Tekton]

Thanks Charles, just always wondered. My cancer is what it is. Names don't change it. But I do enjoy understanding the theory of it all.