Lumpectomy

Breast-conserving surgery is also known as lumpectomy, partial mastectomy, segmental mastectomy, or quadrantectomy. These surgeries remove the cancer but leave most of the breast intact. In a lumpectomy, the surgeon removes the cancer and some normal breast tissue surrounding the lump in order to obtain "margins" around the tumor that are free of cancer. The other types of breast-conserving surgery remove a somewhat larger area of the healthy breast. The appearance of the breast will depend on the size of the breast compared to the size of the cancer and the amount of healthy breast tissue that is removed. The appearance of the scar depends on the type of surgery and the location of the cancer.

Depending on the size of the cancer and the margins, and a woman's response to radiation, a breast may look almost identical after a lumpectomy, or it may look quite different. Radiation can cause a skin condition that looks like sunburn. This usually fades, but in some women it never goes away completely. It is also true that some women find that radiation makes their breast feel hard or firm. Again, this may last just a few months, or longer. However, firm or hard breasts are even more common among women who have implants after a mastectomy.

Most women who have a lumpectomy followed by radiation will not have a recurrence in the same breast. A recurrence in the same breast does not reduce a woman's chance for a healthy recovery. It probably, however, will require surgery, and a woman may decide to have a mastectomy at that time, because radiation is not recommended a second time. Breast reconstruction is possible after radiation but the surgery may be more difficult to perform, and this should be discussed with a plastic surgeon.