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Can I Save My Breast?

By Joseph L. Lohmuller, MD, MS, FACS
Breast Surgeon, Kenneth H. McKay, MD Center for Breast Health
Staff Surgeon, Davenport Surgical Group, PC
Adjunct Clinical Professor of Surgery,
University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine

Recently, I was caring for a patient at the Kenneth H. McKay, MD Center for Breast Health on the campus of Genesis East who recently had been diagnosed with breast cancer. The patient had an early breast cancer (stage I) and was concerned that she would need to have a mastectomy in order to achieve a high rate of cure.

This is a common concern for patients with breast cancer, and they often have the misperception that removing the entire breast will allow them to achieve a higher chance of cure. In fact, this is not the case. Studies that have been pursued over the last 30 years, starting in the late 1970s and completed in the 1980s demonstrate that patients who undergo breast conserving therapy (lumpectomy plus radiation) actually do just as well when they are properly selected. In fact, the trend towards superior survival favors breast conserving therapy, likely due to the addition of radiation.

At the Center for Breast Health, which is accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, the program has been at the forefront of breast conservation in the country. The Center is evaluated regularly by the Cancer Quality Improvement Program of the American College of Surgeons and on a recent evaluation the program had a 71 percent breast conservation rate compared to a 61 percent breast conservation rate for similar cancers at centers in its census region (West North Central).

More important than the effort to preserve the breast in cases of cancer is the cure rate. In the Center for Breast Health there was a 91.1 percent five-year survival in stage I cancer, which is slightly better than the national levels of cure at 90.8 percent.  Once I was able to explain to the patient that the cure rate was just as good or better with breast conservation, she proceeded with confidence with that treatment program.

Joseph L. Lohmuller MD, MS, FACS is a staff surgeon at Davenport Surgical Group PC., a breast surgeon at the Kenneth H. McKay, MD Center for Breast Health and an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Surgery at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa For more information call (563) 823-9300.