At Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), you will work with a team of doctors and professionals dedicated to helping you choose a breast cancer treatment plan that meets your unique needs. For many breast cancer patients, surgery is often one element of the treatment process. The goal of surgery is to remove the tumor. If your doctors feel they are able to perform breast conserving surgery without compromising your health, a lumpectomy may be an option.
There are four basic types of surgery available at CTCA for breast cancer treatment: lumpectomy (breast conserving surgery); simple mastectomy; modified radical mastectomy; and breast reconstruction. Surgical procedures are improving all the time, so the type of breast cancer surgery we recommend may be much less radical then you may have feared.
CTCA understands that choosing between having a lumpectomy or mastectomy is a very individual decision to make. Generally, both treatment options have equal survival rates in earlier stages, and there are different considerations with each treatment option. We will work with you to ensure that you understand all of your breast cancer treatment options, and have the knowledge you need to make a decision that you are comfortable with.
To help you after breast cancer surgery, our team of physical therapists will work with you to build a breast cancer therapy program you can use to help prevent lymphedema, if you are at risk. Your doctors may be able to prevent lymphedema by performing a sentinel node sampling of the axilla (underarm) prior to your surgery. This allows your surgeon to determine which lymph nodes need to be removed and hopefully be able to preserve remaining lymph nodes in the axilla.
In addition to surgery, you may receive adjuvant (additional) treatment to attempt to stop cancer growth, spread or recurrence. This adjuvant breast cancer treatment may be in the form of chemotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy or a combination of these treatment options.
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From: cancercenter.com
