Cancer is called “Stage 1” when it is self-contained with no signs of spread to anywhere else.
“Stage 2” is when the cancer has spread outside the original tumor but has remained in the local area with no spread to anywhere else.
The cancer is referred to as “Stage 3” when the tumor cells have spread outside the tumor and have reached the lymph nodes.
The tumor becomes “Stage 4” when it has spread outside the original tumor and started growing in another organ or a “distant” part of the body.
There is no stage 5.
This is a simple way to stage tumors. There are additional criterion that become progressively more complex but this is the general outline.
The simple fact is the higher the stage the more difficult it is to reverse the disease.
It is unfortunate that many people come to us for treatment after they have developed stage 4 disease. This is in spite of them doing all the recommended therapies in conventional oncology. Sadly, this usually means their immune system has been severely hampered by full dose chemotherapy.
In conventional oncology, the patients with stage 4 disease are told that they are incurable. I say none of my patients are incurable because I have seen stage 4 cancer turn around and go away.
I’m not saying it is easy. To be sure, I do not get to say who will respond to our treatments and who will not. I say “that is above my pay-grade”!
But, once you have seen that happen, you can never say it is incurable again.
It is always more likely that we can reverse the disease with a lower stage when the patient comes to our clinic.
