Breast cancer patients do not have to completely remove their breasts

Ms. Wang, 40 years old, finally experienced what it means to regret beyond remedy. As early as 2001, Ms. Wang was told that she had breast hyperplasia, but due to the commonness of breast hyperplasia, she did not become alert. In just a few years, because of bone pain in the armpit to breast section, she went to the hospital for examination again. As a result, a lump the size of a red bean was found in her breast. After a series of tedious examinations, Ms. Wang was told that she had breast cancer and it would be best to have surgery to remove it. Ms. Wang was very worried. Did she really have to remove the entire breast?

Surgical resection has always been the main treatment for breast cancer. With the continuous advancement of medical technology, breast cancer resection procedures are also moving towards narrowing the scope of resection. It is not necessary to remove the entire breast. Patients can choose procedures including breast-conserving surgery and sentinel lymph node biopsy.

1) Breast-conserving surgery: Breast-conserving surgery is suitable for patients with early breast cancer who are suitable for surgery. Studies have found that breast-conserving surgery with safe resection margins plus postoperative radiotherapy has the same efficacy as mastectomy, but the patient is in good shape. For patients with large local tumors, neoadjuvant chemotherapy can be performed to downstage the tumor and preserve the breast.

2) Sentinel lymph node biopsy: The accuracy of sentinel lymph node biopsy in predicting axillary lymph node positivity can reach 90-98%. If the sentinel lymph nodes are not metastatic, axillary lymph node dissection is not required.