Most patients with breast cancer have surgery to remove the cancer from the breast; some lymph nodes under the arm are usually taken out at the same time and examined under a microscope to determine if they contain cancer cells.
Hidden Scar Breast Cancer Surgery is an advanced approach to removing breast cancer. At Women & Infants Hospital, we pride ourselves on providing out patients with the most advanced surgical options in breast cancer surgery. Our surgeons are trained in advanced techniques, and, together, our goal is to give you the best surgical treatment and experience.
Breast cancer can be surgically removed with a mastectomy (your surgeon removes all of your breast tissue) or a lumpectomy (your surgeon removes only part of your breast tissue). With a Hidden Scar approach, our surgeons place your incision in a location that is hard to see so the scar is not visible when your incision heals. As a result, you have little to no visible reminder of the surgery or cancer.
You can schedule an appointment to speak with one of our certified Hidden Scar surgeons by calling The Breast Health Center at (401) 453-7540.
Breast conserving surgery removes the cancer but not the breast itself, either through a lumpectomy (surgical removal of the tumor and a small amount of normal tissue around it), a quadrantectomy (removal of about one quarter of the breast tissue) or a partial mastectomy (surgery to remove the part of the breast that has the cancer and some normal tissue around it). Surgeons at Women & Infants are trained in the most advanced oncoplastic surgery techniques for removing the cancerous tissue while also reforming the breast into a normal shape.
Total mastectomy is surgery to remove the breast containing cancer.
Modified radical mastectomy is surgery to remove the whole breast containing cancer, many of the lymph nodes under the arm, the lining over the chest muscles and, sometimes, part of the chest wall muscles.
Radical mastectomy is surgical removal of both breasts; if this is done when there is no cancer present but genetic testing indicates the woman has a higher risk of developing breast cancer in her lifetime, it is called a prophylactic mastectomy.
If a biopsy shows that the breast cancer has spread outside the milk duct, the surgeon will remove 10 to 40 lymph nodes from under the arm during a lumpectomy or mastectomy surgery to check if the cancer spread.
This is often done to check the lymph nodes for cancer without removing as many of them; the surgeon finds and removes the first, or sentinel, node to check for tumor drainage.
Breast reconstruction surgery is the rebuilding of the breast after a mastectomy or lumpectomy; this can take place at the same time as the surgery to remove the cancer using a technique called oncoplastic surgery, or later.
This uses high-energy rays to kill cancer cells. The radiation dose is concentrated and the energy is about a thousand times greater than what the body receives from a regular x-ray. The energy damages multiplying cells and can penetrate deeply into the body to reach the tumor. The radiation can be delivered in different ways:
This uses medication to kill cancer cells. The medication is injected into your vein through an intravenous tube. This is usually given every three weeks on an outpatient basis.
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