Is a mastectomy safer than a lumpectomy and radiation?
The National Cancer Institute found that a lumpectomy (breast-conserving surgery) followed by radiation was as effective as a mastectomy in saving women’s lives from breast cancer. The risk of local recurrence is still higher with lumpectomy but if cancer recurs in the breast after a lumpectomy and radiation, mastectomy can still be done and can be just as effective.
