What to Expect During a Lumpectomy | Susan G. Komen®

Lumpectomy is a surgery to remove cancer from the breast. Unlike mastectomy, lumpectomy removes only the tumor and a small rim of normal tissue around it.   Skiptocontent TheWho,What,Where,WhenandSometimes,Why. BreastCancerInformation>Treatment>TypesofTreatment>Surgery>Lumpectomy GlossaryPrintShare BreastCancerInformationTreatmentTypesofTreatmentSurgeryLumpectomyLumpectomy–Procedure Mastectomy LumpectomyvsMastectomy BreastReconstruction Lumpectomy Lumpectomyisasurgerytoremovecancerfromthebreast.Unlikemastectomy,lumpectomyremovesonlythetumorandasmallrimofnormaltissuearoundit.Itleavesmostofthebreastskinandtissueinplace. Withlumpectomy,thebreastlooksascloseaspossibletohowitdidbeforesurgery.Mostoften,thegeneralshapeofthebreastandthenippleareaarepreserved. Lumpectomyisalsocalledbreast-conservingsurgery,partialmastectomyandwideexcision. Lumpectomy–TheProcedure Withlumpectomy,thesurgeonmakesanincision(cut)inthebreastandremovesthetumor,alongwithasmallrimofnormaltissuearoundit. Learnmoreaboutthesurgicalprocedureandwhattoexpectbeforeandafterlumpectomy. Radiationtherapyafterlumpectomy Radiationtherapyisusuallygivenafterlumpectomytogetridofanycancercellsthatmightbeleftinthebreast.Thesecellsaretoosmalltoseeonmammogramsorotherimagingtests,ortomeasurewithlabtests. Radiationtherapycanlowertheriskof[4]: Breastcancerrecurrence(areturnofbreastcancer)Breastcancerdeath Iflumpectomyandmastectomyarebothoptionsforsurgery,survivalwithlumpectomyplusradiationtherapyisthesameaswithmastectomy[2-3]. Afterlumpectomy, chemotherapy, hormonetherapy, HER2-targetedtherapy and/orotherdrugtherapiesmayalsobegiven. Whenislumpectomyplusradiationtherapyanoption? Radiationtherapyisusuallygivenafterlumpectomytogetridofanycancercellsthatmightbeleftinthebreast. Lumpectomyisanoptionformostwomenwhohaveearlybreastcancerorductalcarcinomainsitu(anon-invasivebreastcancer). Lumpectomymayalsobeanoptionforsomewomenwithlocallyadvancedbreastcanceraftertreatmentwithneoadjuvanttherapy(drugtherapygivenbeforesurgery). Insomecases,neoadjuvanttherapycanshrinkatumorenoughsolumpectomybecomesanoption,insteadofmastectomy. Whenmaymastectomybethebestsurgicaloption? Mastectomymaybethebestsurgicaloptionwhen: Thereare2ormoretumorsindifferentareasofthebreast(multi-centrictumors).Thetumorislarge(relativetobreastsize)andneoadjuvanttherapywon’tbegiven.Thetumorhasspreadthroughoutthebreast(diffusetumor).Themammogramshowedlargeareasofsuspiciouscalcificationsinthebreast.Thetumorislocatedjustbelowthenippleandthecosmeticlookafterlumpectomywillnotbegood.(Insomecases,lumpectomymayremovethenipple,areolaandtumorbutleavetherestofthebreastintact.)Thesurgeoncannotgetnegativemargins(removeallthetumor)aftermultipleattemptsbylumpectomy.Radiationtherapycan’tbegiven. Learnaboutdecidingbetweenlumpectomyandmastectomy. Whocannothaveradiationtherapy? Noteveryonecanhaveradiationtherapy.Beingpregnant,havingcertainhealthconditionsorhavingcertaininheritedgenemutationscanmakeradiationtherapyharmful. Pregnancy.Radiationcanharmafetus.Dependingonthetimingofthepregnancyandthebreastcancerdiagnosis,youmaybeabletohavelumpectomyandsafelywaituntilafterdeliverytohaveradiationtherapy.SclerodermaorSystemicLupusErythematosus(SLE).RadiationtherapycancauseharmtonormaltissueduringandaftertreatmentinpeoplewhohavesclerodermaorSLE.Insomewomenathigherriskofbreastcancerrecurrence,radiationtherapymaystillbeused.Someinheritedgenemutations.Radiationtherapycancauseharmtonormaltissueduringandaftertreatmentinpeoplewhohavecertaininheritedgenemutations.Insomewomenathigherriskofbreastcancerrecurrence,radiationtherapymaystillbeused.Pastradiationtherapytothesamebreast.Ingeneral,radiationtherapytothebreastcanonlybegivenonce.However,recentdatasuggestrepeatradiationtherapytoaportionofthebreastmaybeareasonableoptionforsomewomen[5].Also,repeatradiationtothechestissometimesrecommendedinthetreatmentofbreastcancerrecurrence. Treatmentguidelines Althoughtheexacttreatmentforbreastcancervariesfrompersontoperson,guidelineshelpensurehigh-qualitycare.Theseguidelinesarebasedonthelatestresearchandagreementamongexperts. TheNationalComprehensiveCancerNetwork(NCCN)andtheAmericanSocietyofClinicalOncology(ASCO)arerespectedorganizationsthatregularlyreviewandupdatetheirguidelines. Inaddition,theNationalCancerInstitute(NCI)hastreatmentoverviews. Talkwithyourhealthcareteamaboutwhichtreatmentguidelinestheyuse. Cosmeticissues Whattoexpectafterlumpectomy Womenmaychooselumpectomyovermastectomytokeeptheirbreastandhaveitlook(asmuchaspossible)likeitdidbeforesurgery. However,lumpectomywillchangethelookandfeelofthebreast.Becausesometissueisremoved,thebreastmaybesmaller.Therewillalsobeascarandsomenumbness.Askyourhealthcareprovideraboutproductsthatmighthelpreducetheappearanceofthescar. Radiationtherapy(usuallygivenafterlumpectomy)canalsoaffectthelookofthebreast.Itmay: MakethebreastsmallerChangethetextureofthebreastMakethebreastfeelfirmer Thelookandfeelofyourbreastwillcontinuetochangeduringthefirst1-2yearsaftersurgeryandradiationtherapy. Whenmastectomymaybeabetteroption Sometimes,thingslikethelocationandsizeofthetumormakeitunlikelyawomanwillbehappywiththelookofherbreastafterlumpectomy.Inthesecases,mastectomy(withorwithoutbreastreconstruction)maybethebetteroption. Breastreconstructionafterlumpectomy Whilenotcommon,awomanmaywishtohavebreastreconstruction(eitheratthetimeofthelumpectomyorlater)tomaintainamorenaturalappearanceofthebreast,ortomatchthesizeandshapeoftheotherbreast. Thesesurgeriesarecomplex,soit’sbesttomeetwithaplasticsurgeontodiscussyouroptions. Transportation,lodging,childcareandeldercareassistance Youmaynotlivenearthehospitalwhereyou’llhaveyoursurgery. Sometimes,thereareprogramsthathelpwithlocalorlong-distancetransportationandlodging.Somealsooffertransportationandlodgingforafriendorfamilymembergoingwithyou. Therearealsoprogramstohelpwithchildandeldercarecosts. Learnabouttransportation,lodging,childcareandeldercareassistanceprograms.   SUSANG.KOMEN®SUPPORTRESOURCES  Ifyouoralovedoneneedsmoreinformationaboutbreasthealthorbreastcancer,contacttheKomenBreastCareHelplineat1-877GOKOMEN(1-877-465-6636)oremailhelpline@komen.org.Allcallsareansweredbyatrainedspecialistoroncologysocialworker,MondaythroughFridayfrom9:00a.m.to10:00p.m.ET.Sehablaespañol. KomenPatientNavigatorscanhelpguideyouthroughthehealthcaresystemasyougothroughabreastcancerdiagnosis.Theycanhelptoremovebarrierstohigh-qualitybreastcare.Forexample,theycanhelpyouwithinsurance,localresources,communicationwithhealthcareprovidersandmore.CalltheKomenBreastCareHelplineat1-877GOKOMEN(1-877-465-6636)oremailhelpline@komen.orgtolearnmoreaboutourPatientNavigatorprogram,includingeligibility. KomenFacebookgroupsprovideaplacewherethosewithaconnectiontobreastcancercansharetheirexperiencesandbuildstrongrelationshipswitheachother.VisitFacebookandsearchfor“KomenBreastCancergroup”or“KomenMetastaticBreastCancergroup”torequesttojoinoneofourclosedgroups. Ourfactsheets,bookletsandothereducationmaterialsofferadditionalinformation. Updated05/25/22 TOOLS&RESOURCES RelatedVideo BreastCancer101–Lumpectomy RelatedVideo LumpectomyVideo RelatedVideo BreastCancer101–Lumpectomy RelatedVideo LumpectomyVideo