In deciding which type of surgery to have for early-stage breast  cancer, the choice is not between saving your breast and saving your  life. Women with early-stage breast cancer who have breast-sparing  surgery live just as long as those who have mastectomy. A woman’s life  expectancy is the same no matter which surgical choice she makes.
When  women are told that the survival rates of both approaches are the same,  they might be surprised or skeptical. Some women assume that breast  cancer won't return if the whole breast is removed. However, some breast  tissue is left behind even after mastectomy, and cancer can recur in  that tissue or on the nearby chest wall. For women with early-stage  breast cancer who choose breast-sparing surgery, research clearly shows  that radiation therapy after surgery lowers the risk of recurrence. The  risk of cancer returning in the same breast is low. Yet, even if breast  cancer does recur in the same breast, that does not reduce a woman's  chances for a healthy recovery. As was already noted, the chance of  survival is not affected by the choice of surgery. However, a recurrence  in the same breast could require more surgery, and a woman may decide  to have a mastectomy at that time.
The type of surgery does not affect the risk of cancer in the healthy breast or elsewhere in the body.
 
No comments:
Post a Comment