Depending upon the stage of your breast cancer will determine any type of breast cancer surgery you will need. Years ago, breast cancer surgery consisted strictly of a mastectomy in which the entire breast was removed, including the surrounding lymph nodes. In recent years, breast cancer surgery has been limited to lumpectomies where only the cancer cells are removed during the breast surgery. In addition to receiving breast cancer surgery, some women may have to undergo chemotherapy to kill any other cancer cells in the body.

Because the breasts are so close to the lymph nodes under the arms, breast cancer sometimes spreads to the lymph nodes, necessitating chemotherapy. If the cancer is localized, however, breast cancer surgery may be the only treatment needed. Some conservative doctors will also use radiation to make sure that any cancer cells in surrounding tissues are also killed. Although breast cancer surgery today is not as disfiguring as that in the past, there are still some instances where a total mastectomy is necessary. In these cases, in addition to ridding the body of cancer, breast cancer surgery includes reconstructive surgery of the breast.

This usually makes the disease much less traumatic for the woman who gets breast cancer. Most women fear breast cancer surgery because they feel it will mean the removal of their breast and make them feel like less of a woman. They think that by undergoing this type of breast cancer surgery, they will be rejected by their husbands. This is why, for psychological reasons, many doctors, when performing breast cancer surgery, also do reconstructive surgery and try to rebuild the breast using surface skin and implants.

Physicians agree that the psychological impact from the reconstructive surgery after breast cancer surgery can help a woman recover quicker both physically and mentally from this dreaded disease.