Surgery may be a suitable option if you suffer from breast cancer. The surgery you undergo will depend on various factors, such as:
- location of the cancer in your breast
- the stage and grade of your cancer
- your general health
Breast conserving surgery
Breast conserving surgery aims to remove the cancer with a rim of normal breast tissue around it and to leave most of the breast intact. This is also called a wide local excision, or sometimes a lumpectomy. This can be done if the lump is small relative to the size of the breast.
Mastectomy
If the lump is relatively large compared to the size of the breast, then a mastectomy surgery may be necessary to remove the whole breast to make sure the cancer is completely removed. For some people, it is possible to shrink a large cancer before surgery so that breast conserving surgery becomes possible. However if a mastectomy is needed, an immediate reconstruction may also be possible to rebuild the breast at the same time.
Breast reconstruction
There are different ways of performing a breast reconstruction. Sometimes an implant can be used, in other cases muscle can be taken from the back (a latissimus dorsi flap), a tissue can be taken from the tummy or from other areas, to form a new breast.
