What is Breast-Conserving Surgery (Lumpectomy)?
Breast-conserving surgery removes the cancer together with a rim of surrounding normal tissue and leaves the rest of the breast in place. You will hear it called a lumpectomy, a wide local excision, a partial mastectomy or a quadrantectomy depending on how much tissue comes out and on the surgeon's training. The intent is the same: take the tumour with a clear edge, keep the breast. The operation is judged on margins. The widely used standard for invasive cancer is no tumour cells touching the inked edge of the specimen; for ductal carcinoma in situ a slightly wider clearance is generally sought.
Read the complete Breast-Conserving Surgery (Lumpectomy) treatment guide
