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The prospect of surgery is never pleasant. But fortunately, breast cancer surgery today is more targeted than in years past. That leads to less scarring and quicker recovery, at the same time providing an effective treatment to lower the odds of recurrence.
Tools used to diagnose cancer are now more precise because the disease is understood on a greater level. Normal methods still largely apply, but they aren’t automatically used. Each case of cancer is different and analyzed differently. Breast cancer patients now have choices and are able to become active participants in the decision making process regarding their surgery.
One of the most common choices made is known as a lumpectomy. Just what it sounds like, a lumpectomy is the surgical removal of the lump that constitutes the cancer tumor. Even here there are a wide range of choices. The amount of tissue removed around the lump varies. Surgeons make a judgment call about how much is needed to reduce the chances of the cancer returning.
Depending upon where the tumor is located, its size, and how long it has been growing a surgeon might have to remove one or more lymph nodes during the lumpectomy process. Lymph nodes are bean-sized glands that are typically oval in shape. They operate as part of a system that operates throughout the body. Lymph nodes are necessary in the immune system. Lymph nodes help to fight off bacteria and the invasion of foreign bodies.
Once cancer has reached and infected a lymph node the cancer can easily and quickly spread all over the body through the blood vessels connecting the lymph nodes together. If this occurs it can make cancer extremely difficult to treat. Often times chemotherapy and even radiation treatments are necessary at this stage.
To reduce the chances of this occurring, surgeons usually remove one or more of the lymph nodes that are located close to a cancerous tumor. Lab tests are then conducted to check to see if the cancer has spread. Again each case is different and the options and actions should be discussed with the medical team involved.
Like other cancer types breast cancer also develops in different stages. The stages are determined by size and tumor type, and also tumor location. When breast cancer reaches a point that it is necessary surgery beyond a lumpectomy might be required. The patient and the doctor could determine that a partial or segmental mastectomy is needed.
In that procedure more breast tissue is removed than in a simple lumpectomy. In many cases radiation therapy may be part of the follow up treatment regimen, often extending for six or eight weeks. The goal is to ensure that all the cancer was removed, or that any remaining malignant tissue the surgeon was unable to get is destroyed by the radiation.
In cases that are more extreme, which are not as likely today, a mastectomy might be performed. The majority or all of the breast is removed. When no lymph nodes are removed the procedure is called either total or simple mastectomy. When all of the breast tissue has been removed in addition to the nipple and lymph nodes in the armpit the surgery is called a modified radical mastectomy.
When the surgeon is forced to remove the chest wall muscles also the procedure is referred to as a radical mastectomy. Luckily this action is extreme and usually not necessary today. When it is required reconstructive surgery and prosthetics can often be used to restore an individuals appearance completely.
A person’s length of stay in the hospital will vary depending upon the treatment that they undergo. These treatments can vary anywhere from outpatient surgery where a person is released the same day to a week for procedures that might be more intense. You have to find a physician that is willing to work with you to answer any and all of your questions in terms you will understand. This is the first step to ensuring for yourself proper treatment.
