Lumpectomy is a surgery to remove a cancer or abnormal tissue from the breast. It’s also known as breast-conserving surgery because, unlike mastectomy, only the tumor and some of the surrounding tissue is removed. The surgery typically takes about an hour and is an outpatient procedure meaning a patient will be able to go home the same day. “It’s abnormal to have a lot of pain after a lumpectomy,” says Dr. Sarah Cate, Chief of Breast Surgery, Stamford Hospital.
For early stage breast cancer, studies have shown that lumpectomy plus radiation is as effective a treatment in preventing a recurrence of breast cancer as mastectomy.
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