Treating the Tumor

Part of breast cancer treatment involves removing the cancer tumor.

Breast Conservation

In the not-too-distant past, all women with breast cancer had a mastectomy, a surgical procedure that removes the entire breast. Today, Einstein patients have another option–lumpectomy, a more limited kind of surgery that removes only the tumor and a portion of the healthy tissue surrounding it. Because lumpectomy preserves healthy breast tissue, it is often called breast conservation surgery.

Recent clinical studies show that lumpectomy, combined with radiation therapy after surgery, is equal to mastectomy in helping patients to survive and remain free of cancer.

Robert Somers, MD, Director of Einstein's Breast Cancer Program at the Marion-Louise Saltzman Women's Center, is a breast conservation pioneer. He began offering his patients lumpectomies 20 years ago–long before most other breast surgeons in the Philadelphia region.

For some women, mastectomy is still the treatment of choice. Proponents of breast conservation and body image, Dr. Somers and his team of breast surgeons offer these women the option of reconstructive surgery at the time of mastectomy, eliminating the need for them to undergo surgery twice. In addition, Einstein breast surgeons are skilled in a technique known as skin-sparing mastectomy, in which most of the breast's natural skin is preserved.

Breasts can be reconstructed in a number of ways. Today, implants are less frequently used. Instead, surgeons may take tissue from other areas of the body, such as the back or the stomach.

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