About Breast Cancer Surgery

Surgery is an effective treatment for breast cancer, especially in the disease’s early stages. Treatment goals for breast cancer surgery are to:

• Eliminate as much of the cancer as possible, by removing either the tumor and its margins (narrow border of surrounding tissue) or the entire breast
• Remove one or more lymph nodes under the arm to check them for cancer
• Help to prevent cancer recurrence
  
• Restore the breast’s shape after removing the cancer
• Relieve symptoms of advanced cancer that has spread (metastasized) to other parts of the body