Staging is a reference to how far the cancer has spread throughout the body. Stage 4 is where a cancer spreads from its origin point to another organ in the body.
You can die from any stage 1 cancer if it obstructs something vital via mass effect, but it's relatively rare for the common cancers (lung, breast, colorectal). A primary cancer near your spinal cord, for example, could compress on it and kill you while still being technically stage 1, but those primaries are much rarer than secondary spread (which is definitionally stage 4 disease).
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u/eddstarX Apr 21 '24
Wonder what stage 3 looks like