The National Cancer Institute estimates that, in 2009, there were 192,370 new diagnoses of breast cancer in the United States. Surgery is a mainstay of breast cancer treatment and there are several types of surgery that are used. The kind of surgery performed can depend on several factors, including the size and spread of the cancer, the patient's general health, and plans for possible reconstruction.
Breast-Conserving Surgery
In breast-conserving surgery, only part of the breast is removed. The amount of breast tissue removed depends on the size and location of the tumor. There are several kinds of breast-conserving surgery, according to the American Cancer Society, including lumpectomy and partial mastectomy. A lumpectomy involves surgically removing the breast tumor and an area around the tumor to make sure all the cancer cells have been removed, called a margin. A larger amount of breast tissue is removed during a partial mastectomy (see References 1). In many Stage I and II breast cancers, lumpectomy has been shown to be as effective as mastectomy; survival rates are identical.
Mastectomy
There are several types of mastectomy, which involves removing the breast tissue and other tissues as needed. A simple mastectomy consists of removing the whole breast and the nipple, but not any axillary lymph nodes (under the arm lymph nodes) or muscle tissue under the breast (see References 1). When a mastectomy is performed on both breasts, it is called a double mastectomy. A modified radical mastectomy is a procedure in which the breast and lymph nodes from the armpit are removed. A radical mastectomy removes the entire breast, underarm lymph nodes, and muscles under the breast in the chest wall. While this surgery was common in the past, it is rarely done now, because other, less invasive surgical options are available that have similar efficacy rates.
Axillary Lymph Node Dissection
Lymph nodes under the arm are called axillary lymph nodes and, though not standard, a dissection can be done with breast-conserving surgery. The purpose of this surgery is to find out whether cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. This can determine the type of subsequent treatment the patient needs.Typically, 20 lymph nodes or less are removed, but anywhere from 10 to 40 can be excised.
