Health Medical Information

I do believe cancer only has 4 stages, and the stages of progression have to do with outcome.

At stage 2 it’s spreading from the original source to at least one other area, at 3 more, and 4 is usually terminal.

Stage one is where you want to catch it, but usually there are no symptoms, or very little if so.

The longer you’ve had the cancer the more longer you need treatment and the more likely you can deteriorate from secondary complications of the treatment. Other infections you get (because your immune system can go right down to non-existing while on treatment) can kill you even if the cancer is better or even gone.

So the earlier the stage of cancer, the less length of time for treatment and better the outcome. Also some cancers progress very rapidly so time is always of the essence.

PS: Don’t forget that some cancers are more treatable than others or just respond better to the treatments.

Often in the states, people can’t afford the right treatment however, and are given only what they can afford, which doesn’t have the same outcome that the proper protocol would have had.

Stage 4

4 is the highest and while serious, is different for lymphomas. May people are already at stage 4 at diagnosis due to the way the disease works. It is not as serious because lymphomas are easily treated.
In some cancers stage 4 is a death sentence.

I wa stage 4 at diagnosis. Any Dr who would tell you (like the above poster) that stage 4 is a death sentence with lymphoma, has no idea what they are talking about and I would have gotten a new MD. Most NHL is diagnosied at stage 3 or 4. It is easily beaten back with chemo, as evidenced by your survival.
I went from stage 4 to remission in less than 6 months. Unfortunately it did come back later but has never gone more than stage 1 or 2 do to close monitoring.