Effective Breast Cancer Surgeries
Doctors may give cancer therapies like chemotherapy or radiation after or before surgery for breast cancer. Chemotherapy before surgery, known as neoadjuvant therapy, helps shrink larger tumors. It makes the removal of entire cancerous tumors easier with surgery.
Chemotherapy after surgery helps kill the undetected cancer cells and reduces the chance of breast cancer recurring. Radiation is a highly effective cancer therapy that typically begins 3-8 weeks after breast cancer surgeries.
It’s a non-invasive breast cancer found in the lining of the breast milk duct.
It’s an invasive breast cancer that starts in the milk ducts and spreads into the other parts of the breast tissue. IDC can spread beyond the breast tissue.
ILC begins in the breast lobules, and it can spread to surrounding breast tissue and other body parts.
It’s a rare type of breast cancer and an aggressive condition.
Metastatic breast cancer is when cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body or organ system.
It is a fast-growing and aggressive breast cancer.
In recurrent breast cancer, the cancer cells return after some time which happens to patients who have been declared cancer-free.
Surgery is often a primary treatment for breast cancer, and there are several types, including:
This surgery removes a single tumor or lump from your breast. The doctor also removes a margin of healthy tissue. A lumpectomy is ideal in the early stage of breast cancer.
This surgery removes one or both breasts. It may remove chest muscles along with breast removal.
This procedure removes a single or few lymph nodes close to thediseased breast to examine if breast cancer has spread there.
This surgery is to restore your breast shape after breast removal. There are several types of breast reconstruction procedures to give a new breast shape.
Before breast cancer surgeries, you're given medicine, a general anesthetic, to put you in a sleep-like state. The surgical oncologist (cancer surgeon) makes an incision (cut) to remove cancerous tumors and tissue. Then, the cancer surgeon closes the incision with stitches.
You might choose breast reconstruction. Make sure you follow the recovery guidelines recommended by your cancer surgeon.
Temporary pain after having breast cancer surgery is common. Pain in the muscles, bones, or joints may occur. Your doctor will prescribe meds to treat pain.
The recovery time may vary. You can expect to recover within 6-8 weeks. However, it may take several months to heal based on individual situations.
At first, the breast area may appear bruised, red, and swollen. That will go away over the next few weeks or months. Over time, the scar will fade and level.
The common side effects of breast cancer surgeries may include fatigue, swelling, pain, shoulder stiffness, swollen arms, bleeding, weakness, blood clots, numbness and tingling, nausea, etc.
For a lumpectomy, you may leave the hospital on the same day as the surgery. If a mastectomy is performed, you may need to stay in the hospital overnight.
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