Step 3. Find out about your breast cancer surgery choices
Most women who have DCIS or Stage I, IIA, IIB, or
IIIA breast cancer have three basic surgery choices. They are
1) breast-sparing surgery followed by radiation therapy,
2) mastectomy, or 3) mastectomy with breast reconstruction
surgery.
Breast-sparing surgery means that the surgeon removes only
your cancer and some normal tissue around it. This kind of
surgery keeps your breast intact--looking a lot like it did before
surgery. Other words for breast-sparing surgery include
"lumpectomy," "partial mastectomy," "breast-conserving
surgery," or "segmental mastectomy."
After breast-sparing surgery, most women also get radiation
therapy. This type of treatment is very important because it
could keep cancer from coming back in the same breast. Some
women also need
chemotherapy
and
hormone therapy.
In a mastectomy, the surgeon removes all of your breast and
nipple. Sometimes, you will also need to have radiation therapy,
chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or all three types of therapy.
Here are some types of mastectomy:
- Total (simple) mastectomy. The surgeon removes all of
your breast. Sometimes, the surgeon also takes out some of
the lymph nodes under your arm.
- Modified radical mastectomy. The surgeon removes all of
your breast, many of the lymph nodes under your arm, the
lining over your chest muscles, and maybe a small chest
muscle.
- Double Mastectomy. The surgeon removes both your
breasts at the same time, even if your cancer is in only one
breast. This surgery is rare and mostly used when the
surgeon feels you have a high risk for getting cancer in the
breast that does not have cancer.
If you have a mastectomy, you can also choose to have breast
reconstruction surgery. This surgery is done by a
reconstructive plastic surgeon
and gives you a new breast-like shape and
nipple. Your surgeon can also add a tattoo that looks like the
areola
(the dark area around your nipple). Or you may not want
any more surgery and prefer to wear a
prosthesis
(breast-like
form) in your bra. There are two types of breast reconstruction
surgery:
- Breast implants. In this kind of surgery, a reconstructive
plastic surgeon puts an
implant
(filled with salt water or
silicone gel) under your skin or chest muscle to build a new
breast-like shape. While this shape looks like a breast, you
will have little feeling in it because the nerves have been cut.
Breast implants do not last a lifetime. If you choose to have
an implant, chances are you will need more surgery later on
to remove or replace it. Implants can cause problems such as
breast hardness, breast pain, and infection. The implant may
also break, move, or shift. These problems can happen soon
after surgery or years later.
- Tissue flaps. In
tissue flap surgery, a surgeon builds a new
breast-like shape from muscle, fat, and skin taken from other
parts of your body. This new breast-like shape should last the
rest of your life.Women who are very thin or obese, smoke,
or have other serious health problems often cannot have
tissue flap surgery.
Tissue flap is major surgery. Healing often takes longer after
this surgery than if you have breast implants. You may have
other problems, as well. For example, you might lose
strength in the part of your body where muscle was taken to
build a new breast. Or you may get an infection or have
trouble healing. Tissue flap surgery is best done by a
reconstructive plastic surgeon who has done it many times
before.
To learn more about breast reconstruction, see "Resources to
Learn More."
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