'Dr. Marissa Howard-McNatt is a surgical oncologist at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Here, she explains the surgical options (lumpectomy and mastectomy) for breast cancer treatment available through the Breast Care Center at the Comprehensive Cancer Center. Learn more about the Breast Care Center: http://www.wakehealth.edu/Breast-Care-Center/ Learn more about Dr. Howard-McNatt: http://www.wakehealth.edu/Faculty/Howard-McNatt-Marissa-M.htm For more information about our breast cancer center and guidance on breast cancer treatment, request an appointment online: http://www.wakehealth.edu/Request-an-Appointment-Online/ TRANSCRIPT: The two main surgical options are lumpectomy- just taking the tumor out and preserving the breast. The second is a mastectomy. With a lumpectomy, it all depends on what the tumor size is. Usually that is available for women with smaller tumors- less than 5 cm. And with lumpectomy, the person does have to have radiation therapy treatments after their surgery. So those two are tied together. The radiation therapy treatments usually last for six weeks, Monday through Friday. And that\'s rather intensive. So someone who wants to have a lumpectomy, they need to know that they\'re going to have to do the radiation therapy treatments. The second option is a mastectomy. And mastectomy entails removing the entire breast. We always offer all our patients who have mastectomy immediate breast reconstruction if they\'re candidates. Meaning at the time of their surgery, when I\'ve performed the mastectomy, while they\'re still asleep in the operating room, the plastic surgeon comes in and does some sort of breast reconstruction- either with an implant or a tissue-based reconstruction using their own tummy tissue or other tissues to recreate a breast. Usually with mastectomy the person will not need radiation therapy treatments. So that\'s usually eliminated. It really depends on what the patient wants. A lot of it’s patient choice. I give my patients the option. I don\'t tell most people which one to choose. Some people, they have to do a mastectomy the tumor\'s either too large or they have disease throughout their breast. So for those people we do steer them towards doing mastectomy. But most people who come with smaller cancers, it\'s their choice which one they want to pursue.'
Tags: Cancer (Disease Or Medical Condition) , Mastectomy (Medical Treatment) , North Carolina (US State) , Surgery (Medical Specialty) , Breast Cancer (Disease Or Medical Condition) , plastic surgery (medical specialty) , Breast Implant (Invention) , Breast Cancer Management (Competitive Space) , Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center (Hospital) , Lumpectomy (Medical Treatment) , Tumor (Disease Or Medical Condition) , Radiation Therapy (Medical Treatment) , Winston-Salem (City/Town/Village)
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