Breast Center

Offering reliable healthcare to women across the nation, the Breast Center at JFK Medical Center provides a wide range of specialized services to help diagnose and treat breast cancer. It’s important to understand your options, including mastectomy, as you and your doctor build a treatment plan. Read on to learn more about this procedure and the variations your surgeon may recommend.

How Do Mastectomies Work?

The type of mastectomy you receive will depend on your unique situation. No matter how cancer has affected your body, our medical professionals will ensure that you receive the least invasive style of mastectomy that will adequately address your diagnosis. Here are the types of mastectomies you might come across:

• Simple mastectomy: Also referred to as total mastectomies, simple mastectomies involve the complete removal of the breast. This operation includes the nipple, but not lymph nodes or other muscle tissue near the affected breast.
• Modified radical mastectomy: During these mastectomies, the complete breast is removed, along with lymph nodes from the underarm area (known as axillary lymph nodes).
• Radical mastectomy: Radical mastectomies involve the entire removal of the breast, axillary lymph nodes and additional muscle tissue from under the breast. This procedure is considerably more invasive than the prior alternatives, but it’s much less common thanks to the continued evolution of available medical procedures.
• Double mastectomy: This operation involves full removal of both breasts. It’s usually reserved for patients with an extremely high risk of developing breast cancer.

Is a Mastectomy Right For You?

Only you and your doctor can determine the best course of treatment, and it’s important to take into account your full medical history, current diagnosis and concerns for the future when making a decision. However, mastectomies are often a good choice for women who cannot undergo radiation treatment or have already received it in the past, as well as those who have genetic factors that significantly increase future cancer diagnoses. Your doctor will present all the available choices for treatment and help ensure you receive the right procedures.

Everything You Need

The Breast Center at JFK Medical Center is staffed with an expert team of medical professionals dedicated to women’s breast and bone health. Our vast list of services includes mammography, ductography, ultrasound, biopsies and much more.