If tests show that you have head and neck cancer, the next step will be to stage your cancer’s growth. In this phase of your diagnosis, your doctor will determine where your cancer is located and if it has spread to other parts of the body.
There are different staging systems for each type of head and neck cancer, but they are all divided into five stages: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4. In general, the higher the stage, the more likely your cancer is to have grown or spread. Unlike other cancers, a stage 4 head and neck cancer does not always mean it is incurable.
Your doctor may refer to your cancer as:
- Local: This means your cancer has not spread.
- Locally advanced: This means that your cancer has spread, but not far from where it started.
- Metastatic: This means that your cancer has spread to another part of your body.
- Systemic: This means that your cancer has spread throughout your body.
One tool that helps to stage head and neck cancer is the TNM system:
- T (Tumor): How large is the main tumor and where is it?
- N (Node): Has the tumor spread to any lymph nodes?
- M (Metastasis): Has your cancer spread to another part of your body?