People with breast cancer can choose between total removal of a breast (mastectomy) and breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) followed by radiation in some rare conditions.

For those with only one location of cancer in the breast and a tumor less than 4 centimeters in diameter, lumpectomy is likely to be just as effective as mastectomy. Clear margins (no cancer cells in the tissue surrounding the tumor) is another requirement, says the breast cancer doctor in Kolkata.

Factors to Consider

Although most women who have the option prefer the less intrusive lumpectomy, the choice between the two is based on how you feel about the following:

Do you want your breasts to stay?

If keeping your breast is crucial to you, you may choose for a lumpectomy rather than a mastectomy.

Do you want your breasts to be as similar in size as possible?

Lumpectomy gives an excellent cosmetic outcome for the majority of women. Lumpectomy can make the breast look smaller or deformed in rare circumstances where a bigger region of tissue needs to be removed. Both lumpectomy (if there is significant deformity) and mastectomy have several sorts of reconstructive options. If you require a big amount of tissue removed and having two breasts that are the same size is very essential to you, you and your doctor will need to decide which breast cancer surgery is best for you.

How concerned will you be if your breast cancer reappears?

You might contemplate mastectomy if removing the entire breast would help you worry less about the chance of breast cancer returning (recurrence).

Benefits and Drawbacks of Lumpectomy

The main benefit of a lumpectomy is that it can help you keep a lot of your breast's appearance and sensation. Because it is a less intrusive procedure, your recovery period will be quicker and easier than if you had a mastectomy.

There are a few drawbacks of lumpectomy:

·         After a lumpectomy, the probability of a local recurrence of the cancer is slightly higher than after a mastectomy. Local recurrence, on the other hand, can be successfully treated with mastectomy.

·         Following your lumpectomy, you may need one or more further procedures. During a lumpectomy, the surgical oncologist in Kolkata removes the malignant tumor as well as some of the surrounding normal tissue (called the margins). A pathologist examines the margins to detect if cancer cells are present. If cancer cells are found, more tissue must be removed until the margins are cancer-free. This should all be done during the lumpectomy, however the margin analysis can take up to a week. As a result, sometimes after the pathology report is completed, the margins are discovered to contain cancer cells, necessitating additional surgery (known as a re-excision).

Benefits and Drawbacks of Mastectomy

Some women find that removing the entire breast gives them more peace of mind. Depending on the pathology's findings, radiation therapy may still be required.

There are some potential drawbacks to mastectomy:

·         Mastectomy is more time-consuming and thorough than lumpectomy, with greater post-operative adverse effects and a longer recovery period.

·         Mastectomy is the permanent removal of the entire breast.

·         As per the breast cancer specialist in Kolkata, following a mastectomy, you will almost certainly need additional procedures to reconstruct your breast.

Make Your Own Decision

You may go to tremendous measures to protect your breasts because they are such a vital aspect of your identity — your feeling of who you are. That's a perfectly fine approach to pursue, regardless of your age, AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T jeopardize your general health and recovery prospects.