Women's Health

Breast Treatments

• Lumpectomy: Surgery to remove a breast lump (which may be breast cancer) and some normal tissue surrounding it. Many early breast cancers are surgically removed by lumpectomy rather than mastectomy.
• Mastectomy: Surgery to remove the entire breast. In a radical mastectomy, some of the chest wall muscle and surrounding lymph nodes are also removed.
• Axillary lymph node dissection: Surgical removal of armpit lymph nodes, which may be affected by breast cancer. These lymph nodes are the gateway for cancer cells to spread to the rest of the body.
• Chemotherapy: Medicine taken as pills or given through the veins to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be given to reduce the size of a cancer or to reduce its chance of spreading or returning.
• Radiation therapy: High-energy radiation waves directed by a machine at the breast, chest wall, and armpit can kill remaining cancer cells after surgery (external beam radiation). Radiation may also be delivered by placing radioactive material inside your body (brachytherapy).
• Breast reconstruction: When an entire breast or large amounts of breast tissue are removed, such as after a mastectomy, the breast can be reconstructed using either an implant or tissue from your own body.
• Antibiotics: In cases of mastitis caused by bacteria, antibiotics can usually cure the infection.
• Breast augmentation: Surgery to increase the size or improve the shape of the breasts, using artificial implants.
• Breast reduction: Surgery to reduce the size of breasts. In women, this is often done to relieve neck or back pain from exceptionally large breasts. Men may also seek breast reduction for gynecomastia.