Breast cancer surgery may be the best option for some breast cancer patients.
When Surgery is Necessary
After a breast biopsy and the confirmation of the malignant growth, a patient might be persuaded to have breast surgery. This will help to remove the cancerous growths from the body, hopefully before the cancer cells have time to spread.
There are a few different breast cancer surgery options available:
- Lumpectomy - This is where the lump is removed as well as a small amount of breast tissue around the lump’s location.
- Mastectomy - This surgery is the complete removal of the breast when the cancer has spread further into the ducts and other tissues.
- Sentinel node biopsy - If the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, the nodes can be removed to stop the spread.
- Axillary lymph node dissection - When the cancer has spread even further, other lymph nodes can be removed
Breast cancer surgery can help to stop a late stage breast cancer, though it can be a painful process with a long recovery period. Some more extensive breast cancer surgeries may also entail a need for reconstructive surgeries to rebuild the breast’s appearance.
Common Breast Surgery Complications
While no surgery is without complications or risks, breast cancer surgery candidates should know what they might experience along the way:
- Pain
- Sensation loss in the nipple
- Blood loss
- Infection
- Arm swelling
With a good cancer surgeon, you should be able to recover quickly from smaller surgeries, but a mastectomy will be a much more extensive process from which to recover.