Sarah Ferguson Opens Up About Facing Breast Cancer
- Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, recently underwent breast cancer surgery. Her spokesperson says the surgery was a success and her prognosis is good.
- The two main types of breast cancer surgery are a lumpectomy and mastectomy.
- During a lumpectomy, a surgeon removes just the cancerous area, along with a small margin of healthy tissue around it. During a mastectomy, all of the breast tissue is removed either in one breast (a single, or unilateral, mastectomy) or both breasts (a double, or bilateral, mastectomy).
- Whether a patient undergoes a lumpectomy versus a mastectomy is a very personal decision that can depend on factors like the size of the tumor, its genetic markers and the patient's family history.
Ferguson is a member of the British royal family. From 1986 to 1996, she was married to Prince Andrew, the father of her two children, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
Read MoreBreast Cancer Surgery: What to Expect
Once a person is confirmed to have breast cancer, it’s likely they will undergo some type of breast cancer surgery.
The two main types of breast cancer surgery are a lumpectomy and mastectomy. A lumpectomy is where the surgeon only removes the cancerous area, along with a small margin of healthy tissue around it. During a mastectomy, all of the breast tissue is removed either in one breast (a single, or unilateral, mastectomy) or both breasts (a double, or bilateral, mastectomy).
Should I Have a Lumpectomy or Mastectomy?
"Traditionally, when a woman had breast cancer she [would need a] mastectomy, which was to have the breasts removed, but now for the past 40-50 years, we know instead you can do what is called a lumpectomy, where you go ahead and remove only the part of the breast that has the cancer," Dr. Linda Moy, a radiologist at NYU Langone Health, tells SurvivorNet.
Whether a patient undergoes a lumpectomy versus a mastectomy is a very personal decision that can be affected by factors like the size of the tumor, its genetic markers and the patient's family history.
Learning about Breast Cancer
In a previous conversation with SurvivorNet, Dr. Sarah Cate, a breast surgeon with Mount Sinai Health System, explained that “long-term survival with mastectomy is equivalent to that with lumpectomy and radiation.” Additionally, she says a mastectomy is “a much bigger surgery” with a “much longer recovery.”
People who need to undergo surgery for breast cancer should consider these factors and more before making concrete decisions about which procedure they will get.
RELATED: What Is Oncoplastic Surgery?
Like any surgery, there are potential risks to consider when undergoing both a mastectomy and a lumpectomy.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the risks of a mastectomy include:
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Pain
- Swelling (lymphedema) in your arm if you have an axillary node dissection
- Hard scar tissue forming at the surgical site
- Shoulder pain/stiffness
- Numbness, especially under the arm, from lymph node removal
- Buildup of blood in the surgical site (hematoma)
Risks of a lumpectomy, on the other hand, include:
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Pain
- Temporary swelling
- Tenderness
- Hard scar tissue forming at the surgical site
- Change in the shape and appearance of the breast, especially if a large amount is removed
Overall, the decision to get a lumpectomy or a mastectomy is a choice. Know that both of the procedures come with risks and the needs of each patient are different. Talk to your doctor about what type of surgery is right for you.
“There are some patients that come in, and right away they want both breasts removed,” Dr. Cate said. “But my job as the breast surgeon is to… stratify their risk, and say, do you have a strong family history of breast cancer? Do you have a strong family history of ovarian cancer? Should we be doing genetic testing on you to see if you’re at an extraordinarily high risk of breast cancer?
“And then to review their films with our radiologists and to decide, do they really need a mastectomy? So many patients will come in wanting both breasts removed, but we’ll end up with lumpectomy and radiation, which is really standard of care.”
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.