What is the difference between a "lumpectomy" and a "mastectomy"?
Regarding breast cancer treatment, the difference between a lumpectomy and a mastectomy is that a lumpectomy is where the tumor is small enough that the surgeon is able to just remove the area of the breast that's affected by cancer, and the rest of the breast tissue is left behind. Whereas a mastectomy is where the entire breast is taken off, going down to the muscle. The skin is often left behind, in skin sparing mastectomies, and then women can then have reconstruction done afterwards, to recreate their breast. For lumpectomies, women will need adjuvant radiation treatment after their breast treatment because there is a risk of a local recurrence of cancer cells that may be just outside the area that was excised or removed. For mastectomy, there is usually not a role for radiation because the entire breast tissue is removed with the surgical specimen. The outcomes between lumpectomy and mastectomy in terms of breast cancer survival and breast cancer cure are identical these days as long as the lumpectomy is combined with radiation. So, oftentimes it comes down to cosmetics; in other words, is the tumor able to be removed while maintained a good cosmetic outcome on the breast, or does too much of the breast tissue need to be taken out for it to look like a normal breast? At that point, if it is, then a mastectomy is recommended, with reconstruction afterwards.
