About Breast Cancer Surgery

The priority of breast cancer surgery is to remove all of the disease. It is very effective at doing this and as such it is the best treatment option for the vast majority of women with breast cancer.

Most women (though not all) will have other treatments in addition to surgery to maximise the chances of cure. Surgery also helps tailor these treatments to an individual woman by the additional information that is obtained from the tests on the tissue that is removed.

A secondary priority of breast cancer surgery is to leave an acceptable result from the surgery in terms of appearance and quality of life. As more women survive breast cancer then more women are left to live the rest of their lives with the (sometimes all too visible) scarring and deformity and other reminders that surgery can leave.

Oncoplastic breast surgery aims to optimise the success rate of breast cancer surgery in terms of treating the cancer and leaving an acceptable appearance. There is good evidence that it can do this. In many sitiuations it is about having options and being able to choose the best option for an individual woman with breast cancer. There is also good evidence that women who are given options tend to have better overall outcomes from breast cancer surgery. As not every surgeon can offer a full range of options it is important to choose your breast surgeon carefully and get off to a good start in your treatment pathway.