Breast Cancer		Decision of Mastectomy Over a Lumpectomy   When would I choose a mastectomy over a lumpectomy? The “lumpectomy vs. mastectomy” is a very difficult choice facing many women with breast cancer. Weighing the decision whether or not to save the breast is very stressful. However, several medical and personal factors that may encourage you to have a mastectomy: If your cancer is located in more than one part of your breast If radiation therapy after surgery would not be effective or would not be appropriate for you If your breast is already small or oddly-shaped prior to the contemplated surgery, and even a lumpectomy would leave you with very little breast tissue or a very deformed breast If losing your breast will not cause you to become overly depressed and despondent If having the entire breast removed would bring you greater peace of mind regarding reducing your risk of cancer recurrence Questions Related to Decision of Mastectomy Over a Lumpectomy I’ve just been diagnosed with cancer. What should I do, including deciding on treatment? Should I get a second opinion from another doctor about my breast cancer? What are the treatment options for breast cancer? What things should I consider when deciding on a type of treatment? What does a cancer’s histological grade have to do with selecting a type of treatment? What treatments are usually associated with the different stages of breast cancer? What is a bone scan? Why do I need one? When should I get a bone scan? What is the difference between cancer and recurrent cancer? How do the treatments differ? What are breast-conserving surgeries? Why do I need so many doctors involved in my treatment? What do they all do? What is hypercalcemia, and how is it treated? What is the difference between a lumpectomy and a mastectomy? When is radiation added after a mastectomy? What is a lumpectomy? What is a partial mastectomy? What is a radical mastectomy? What is a modified radical mastectomy? What is a total mastectomy? What is a segmental mastectomy? What is a skin-sparing mastectomy? What is involved with a lumpectomy surgery? How long will it take? What is involved with a mastectomy surgery? How long will it take to recover? What is radiation therapy? When is radiation therapy appropriate? When is radiation therapy not an option? Does the procedure for external radiation therapy hurt? Will external radiation therapy make me radioactive? Does radiation therapy increase my risk of my cancer recurring? Does radiation therapy increase my risk of developing cancer in my other breast? Who is a dosimetrist? What happens during your radiation setup? What happens during the actual treatments with external radiation? What is implant radiation therapy? What is brachytherapy? How long will my external radiation therapy take? What is a boost dose of radiation? What is intraoperative radiation therapy? What is hyperfractionated radiation therapy? What is radiosurgery ablation? Can I take vitamins during radiation treatment? What is chemotherapy? How does it work? How is the treatment taken? What are SERMs? How do they work? What are aromatase inhibitors? How do they work? What is Tamoxifen? How does it work? What is Arimidex? What is Taxol? What are the different classes of chemotherapy drugs? What are adjuncts? What is bone marrow transplantation? Page 1 of 2    | 1 | 2 | Next

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