Women with breast cancer are given the opportunity to choose between total removal of a breast (mastectomy) and breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) followed by radiation.
The main advantage of lumpectomy is that it can preserve much of the appearance and sensation of your breast. It is a less invasive surgery, so your recovery time is shorter and easier.
Lumpectomy followed by radiation has several drawbacks:
•After surgery, you are likely to have five to seven weeks of radiation therapy, five days per week, to make sure the cancer is gone.
•You are at a somewhat higher risk of developing a local recurrence of the cancer than are women who undergo mastectomy. However, recurrence can be treated successfully with mastectomy.
•Your breast cannot safely tolerate additional radiation if cancer occurs in the same breast after lumpectomy. This is true for either a recurrence of the same cancer, or for a new cancer. If you have a second cancer in the same breast, your doctor will usually recommend that your breast be removed.
Removing the entire breast is called a Mastectomy. Radiation therapy may still be needed, depending on the results of the pathology.
Mastectomy has three main drawbacks:
1.The surgery is longer and more extensive, with more post-surgery side effects and a longer recuperation time.
2.The surgery means a permanent loss of your breast.
3.If, like most women, you pursue reconstruction after mastectomy, you are likely to face additional surgeries in a multi-step cosmetic procedure.
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