Should Your Female Breast Cancer Patient Have a Lumpectomy or Mastectomy? Helping Patients Confidently Decide Between Surgical Options

Navigation & Survivorship News published on January 26, 2023 in Insights into Navigation
Lillie D. Shockney, RN, BS, MAS, HON-ONN-CG
Editor-in-Chief, JONS; Co-Founder, AONN+; University Distinguished Service Professor of Breast Cancer, Professor of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Co-Developer, Work Stride-Managing Cancer at Work, Johns Hopkins Healthcare Solutions

After receiving a breast cancer diagnosis, patients often find treatment options dauntingly confusing. When the tumor is relatively small and no lymph nodes clinically appear to be of concern, patients are tempted to leap toward having a bilateral mastectomy, falsely under the impression that it is their best chance of survival; however, large surgeries don’t automatically carry patients up the survival curve. Here is a list of considerations to share with patients debating surgical options.

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