Breast Cancer Surgery – Mastectomy
Learn More About Mastectomies for Breast Cancer: Chat with Us | Email Us
Mastectomy for Breast Cancer
Most breast cancer patients will have some form of surgery to remove cancer from the breast. Depending on the extent of the breast cancer, your personal preferences, and other factors, your CTCA breast cancer team may recommend a mastectomy.
More and more women are opting for breast-conserving surgery over a mastectomy, when appropriate. However, if breast-conserving surgery is not a viable option for you, your surgeon may perform a mastectomy.
A mastectomy involves the surgical removal of all or portions of the breast, and sometimes other tissue. The goal of a mastectomy is to remove cancerous tissue before it can spread to other areas of the body.
Types of Breast Cancer Mastectomies
There are different types of breast cancer mastectomies:
- Partial (segmental) mastectomy: Your surgeon removes part of the breast that contains the tumor, along with some normal surrounding breast tissue. Some of the lymph nodes under the arm may also be removed.
- Total (simple) mastectomy: Your surgeon removes the whole breast. Some of the lymph nodes under the arm may also be removed.
- Modified radical mastectomy: Your surgeon removes the whole breast, along with some of the lymph nodes under the arm, and often the lining over the chest muscles. The muscles under your breast are preserved.
- Radical mastectomy: The surgeon removes the whole breast, along with all of the lymph nodes under the arm, and the chest wall muscles under the breast (where cancerous cells have spread). This operation, while once considered the standard for women with breast cancer, is very rarely used today. It is typically reserved for advanced cancers (in which the disease has spread to the chest muscles).
Meeting Your Individual Needs
Your care team at CTCA will help you weigh the benefits and risks of each breast cancer treatment so you can decide which surgery is right for your individual needs.
If a mastectomy is part of your breast cancer treatment plan, you have several options for breast reconstruction using implants or tissue to restore your breast’s appearance and function. Prior to the procedure, you can meet with one of our plastic surgeons to discuss your reconstruction options.
After the procedure, your CTCA care team will support you on many levels. For example, therapies like mind-body medicine will help you cope with the emotional and psychological impact of a mastectomy and image enhancement services will help promote a positive self-image.
Next Topic: Breast Cancer Reconstruction
