Surgery

Surgery is the most common local treatment for early breast cancer. Depending on the stage of cancer, tumor markers, and your overall health, radiation, hormonal (estrogen-blocking/reducing) treatment, and/or chemotherapy may be used in combination with surgery. If the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, surgery is generally not an option.

There are two main options for breast cancer surgery:

• Lumpectomy (also called breast-conserving surgery) — an operation in which only the tumor and some surrounding tissue are removed from the breast. In most cases, patients undergo radiation treatment following their lumpectomy.
• Mastectomy — an operation in which the whole breast is removed. Sometimes radiation is given after mastectomy.

For invasive breast cancer, both of these procedures may also be accompanied by an axillary lymph node dissection.

If you have a mastectomy, breast reconstruction (surgery to rebuild a breast's shape after a mastectomy) may be considered. Breast reconstruction may be done either at the time of the mastectomy or at a future time.