Do I have to have a total mastectomy if I have breast cancer?

  In the last 30 years or so, there has been a fundamental shift in the understanding of breast cancer. The scope of breast cancer surgery has been gradually narrowed, first to preserve the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor muscles, and with the increase of early diagnosis rate the implementation of breast-conserving surgery, i.e., removing the lesion while preserving the breast, has provided more breast cancer patients with the right to be alive and to be beautiful.  There are two problems that tumor patients have to solve, one is survival and the other is quality of life, which in layman’s terms means to live both long and well. The goal we pursue is that each patient should have the longest possible survival period, and at the same time maintain a good physical and mental state, good quality of life and perfect stability of family and social life. To achieve this goal, systemic treatment is required, i.e. systemic treatment – neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery, followed by surgery, breast-conserving mastectomy, and postoperative radiation therapy plus adjuvant chemotherapy in a comprehensive treatment approach.