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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How Fast Does Cancer Spread?

my sister has always taken good care of herself. last year 7/10 she had her first baby at age 40 - the baby is allergic to everything and is a bit "sickly" - for several months they passed being sick back and forth - antibiotic, lots of doctor visits - chest x-rays etc. - this past May (5/11) on the x-ray was a cloud on the lung - further tests showed cancer - cancer in brain, lungs, back, pelvis - stage 4 was stated - how fast does cancer spread that it couldn't be found out sooner than stage 4?
posted on Fri, 14 Mar 2014
Twitter Mon, 23 Mar 2015 Answered on
Twitter Mon, 23 Mar 2015 Last reviewed on
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Radiologist,  's  Response
Hi,
Thanks for writing in.

Sorry to hear about the cancer spread to brain, lungs, back and pelvis. Cancer is a challenging disease and sometimes investigating it can take time and it might have spread to many areas. Considering cancer spread, there are many types, some are locally aggressive and recurrent, others are slow spreading and few are aggressive and spread fast. It will help to know which type of cancer has been diagnosed and the type of cells isolated.

There are certain cancers that can reach from stage 1 to stage 4 in a year and this depends on volume doubling time also. Stage 1 through 3 depends on the size of tumor and its local invasion. Stage 1 and 2 disease takes some time but stage 3 and 4 appear with rapid progress. Treatment is usually chemotherapy and radiation in stage 4 cancer. Please do not worry.
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How Fast Does Cancer Spread?

Hi, Thanks for writing in. Sorry to hear about the cancer spread to brain, lungs, back and pelvis. Cancer is a challenging disease and sometimes investigating it can take time and it might have spread to many areas. Considering cancer spread, there are many types, some are locally aggressive and recurrent, others are slow spreading and few are aggressive and spread fast. It will help to know which type of cancer has been diagnosed and the type of cells isolated. There are certain cancers that can reach from stage 1 to stage 4 in a year and this depends on volume doubling time also. Stage 1 through 3 depends on the size of tumor and its local invasion. Stage 1 and 2 disease takes some time but stage 3 and 4 appear with rapid progress. Treatment is usually chemotherapy and radiation in stage 4 cancer. Please do not worry.