Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is a malignant (cancerous) tumor that begins in the cells of the breast. It is found mostly in women, but men can also get breast cancer. It is the most common cancer among women in the United States, other than skin cancer. Currently there are 2½ million breast cancer survivors in the United States.

There are several types of breast cancer:

1. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)
2. Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS)
3. Invasive (or infiltrating) ductal carcinoma (IDC)
4. Invasive (infiltrating) lobular carcinoma (ILC)
5. Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC)

Most women with breast cancer have some type of surgery to remove as much of the cancer as possible. Surgery may also be done to find out whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm.

The surgeons at Surgical Specialists of Greenwich perform various types of breast surgery depending upon the type and stage of the cancer. Surgery options may include a lumpectomy to remove the lump; a partial mastectomy to remove the lump and additional breast tissue; or a simple or total mastectomy to remove the entire breast. A minimally invasive lymph node resection, sentinel lymph node biopsy,  may also be done at the time of a lumpectomy or mastectomy in order to determine the stage of the cancer.