Breast Surgery
Treatment of breast cancer often begins with surgery. Cancer Care Northwest’s surgical oncology team includes fellowship-trained surgeons who specialize in treating breast cancer.
Types of Breast Surgery
The type and extent of surgery depends on the size of the cancer and if and where it has spread.
Breast-Conservation Surgery
Women with early stage breast cancer (the tumor is small and has not spread) are able to effectively treat their disease while also sparing their breasts. A breast-conservation surgery removes the tumor and surrounding tissue in a procedure called a lumpectomy. Lymph nodes under the arm may also be removed.
Research shows that breast-conservation surgery, when paired with radiation therapy to kill any remaining cancerous cells that are left behind after the operation, is as effective as a mastectomy (removal of breast) when treating small tumors.
Partial Breast Irradiation
Instead of the weeks of external beam radiation therapy that usually follows a breast-conservation surgery, partial breast irradiation allows you to complete your radiation treatment in as few as five days.
Partial breast irradiation is a form of brachytherapy (internal radiation therapy). Within weeks after your surgery to remove the cancer, your breast surgeon may place a balloon device into the empty space that was created after a lumpectomy. The balloon is filled with saline solution and remains inflated throughout treatment. A tiny radioactive seed inserted into the balloon delivers radiation to the surrounding the area. The balloon is removed after treatment. There are different products used to perform this procedure, including Mammosite and Contura .
Other techniques to deliver partial breast irradiation include interstitial catheters and modifications of the standard external beam radiation. Your surgical oncologist and radiation oncologist work together to determine which type is more suitable for your situation.
Cancer Care Northwest’s Dr. Stephanie Moline introduced partial breast irradiation to Spokane in 2004.
Mastectomy
A mastectomy is the surgical removal of the entire breast and lymph nodes under the arm. A sentinel lymph node biopsy may be performed to help your doctors determine if and where the cancer has spread.
Reconstructive surgery
Some women who have a mastectomy are candidates for breast reconstruction to rebuild the breast. This may be done at the time of the mastectomy or later. Our surgeons work with local plastic surgeons to coordinate the best outcome.