For people with early breast cancer, the goal of surgery is to remove the entire tumor from the breast. Some of the lymph nodes from the underarm area, called axillary nodes, may also be removed to check if cancer has spread there.

There are two main types of surgery for breast cancer. One type is a lumpectomy, or breast conserving surgery, and the other is a mastectomy, or the removal of the whole breast.

For many people, both options are effective. A lumpectomy is usually followed by radiation therapy, while a mastectomy may or may not be followed by radiation. Overall survival rates are the same for both treatments. This means both treatments lower the risk of dying from breast cancer or another cause by the same amount.

The choice of surgery does not determine whether you’ll need chemotherapy, hormone therapy, HER2-targeted therapy or other additional drug therapies. These therapies are given based on the characteristics of the tumor, including hormone receptor status and HER2 status, not the type of surgery you have.

Susan G. Komen® offers a helpful list of questions to ask your doctor before and after breast cancer surgery to better understand your options.

For more information, visit the Surgery page in the Treatment section of komen.org.