Breast Cancer Surgery

Treatment Options / By

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Breast cancer can manifest itself in different ways. Therefore, knowing the main types helps to identify their signs more quickly and seek medical help, as well as helping to understand the treatment options available.

It can be done, for example, to remove the tumor, find out if it has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm, restore the shape of the breast after the tumor is removed, and relieve the symptoms of cancer when it is at an advanced stage.

Surgery to remove breast cancer

There are two main types of breast cancer surgery:

  • Lumpectomy: This is a surgical procedure in which only the part of the breast that contains the tumor is removed. The size of the breast removed depends on the size and location of the tumor;
  • Mastectomy: This type of surgery removes the entire breast, including breast tissue and, in some cases, nearby tissue. There are different types of mastectomy.

Surgery to Remove Lymphatic Nodes

Part of treating breast cancer is monitoring the spread of the tumor, which may spread to the axillary lymph nodes. When this happens, surgical intervention is necessary. There are two main types:

  • Sentinel lymph node biopsy: In this procedure, the surgeon only removes the lymph nodes under the arm, where cancer first spreads. Removing some of the lymph nodes from this region reduces the risk of side effects from the surgery;
  • Axillary lymph node dissection: In this case, the surgeon may remove up to 20 lymph nodes below the arm.

Breast reconstruction

Breast reconstruction is an option for all women who have had to undergo surgery of any kind during breast cancer treatment. It can be restorative or reconstructive – it will depend on what intervention was previously adopted.

References:

  1. Original article published at:  https://mulherconsciente.com.br/cancer-de-mama/tratamentos-para-cancer-de-mama/#tratamento-por-estagio, accessed on July 2024.
  2. National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Guidelines for Patients: Breast Cancer. Available at https://www.nccn.org/patientresources/patient-resources/guidelines-for-patients#category_1, accessed on July 2024.
  3. Treatment Option Overview. National Cancer Institute (NCI). Available at  http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/breast/Patient/page5, accessed on July 2024.