Breast conserving surgery plus radiotherapy is as effective as mastectomy for most women with early breast cancer. This means that, for most women, the chance of the breast cancer spreading to other parts of the body or the chance of dying from breast cancer is the same after either treatment. Ask your doctor about the benefits and risks of these treatments for you.
Breast conserving surgery
Breast conserving surgery is considered an option if:
- the cancer is small enough compared to the size of your breast so as to safely remove all the cancer and a surgical margin of healthy tissue and give an acceptable appearance
- it is your preference.
What does breast conserving surgery usually involve?
Breast conserving surgery usually involves:
- removal of the cancer and a small area of healthy tissue around it, called the surgical margin
- removal of lymph nodes from the armpit after surgery, radiotherapy to the conserved breast
Both types of breast surgery usually also involve axillary dissection, which is surgery to remove some lymph nodes from the armpit. A new surgical procedure called sentinel node biopsy is currently being researched. This involves removing a smaller number of lymph nodes.
What are the advantages of breast conserving surgery?
If you have breast conserving surgery, you:
- will be able to keep your breast, although it will not look the same as it did before surgery
- will usually not need to wear a breast prosthesis or consider breast reconstruction
- are likely to feel better about the way your body looks, compared
with how you might feel if you had a mastectomy.
What does breast conserving surgery look like?
Note that the position of the scar on your breast will depend on the location of your cancer. Your breast will also change in shape and size, depending on how much breast tissue is removed.
