• Surgery is used to diagnose cancer, determine its stage, and to treat cancer.
• Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) is an operation that removes the tumour and allowing a woman to keep or conserve as much of her breast as possible.
• A lumpectomy can be done for the breast tumour if it is solitary and small enough.
• A mastectomy is surgery to remove the breast. It is performed either to treat or in rare situations to prevent breast cancer.
• A mastectomy can be done with immediate reconstruction of the breast.
• Axillary surgery is needed to stage the cancer. The commonest form is axillary dissection where at least 10 lymph nodes are removed.
• If facilities are available, sentinel node biopsy can be performed in early breast cancer.

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The cancer treatment information is made possible through grant from Boeing.
The article has been reviewed by Associate Prof. Dr. Nur Aishah Binti Mohd Taib, Consultant Breast Surgeon, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine Building, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur