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After Undergoing Breast-Conserving Therapy, Breast Cancer Survivors Often Rate Post-Treatment Breast

Posted Date: November 02, 2010

A third of breast cancer survivors who received the breast-conserving treatments lumpectomy and radiation rate the appearance of their post-treatment breast as only “fair” or “poor” in comparison to their untreated breast, according to a new University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine study that was presented at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) in San Diego.

A third of breast cancer survivors who received the breast-conserving treatments lumpectomy and radiation rate the appearance of their post-treatment breast as only “fair” or “poor” in comparison to their untreated breast, according to a new University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine study that was presented at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) in San Diego.

Many women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer elect to undergo and radiation, a combination of treatments that avoids complete removal of the breast. Unfortunately, cosmetic issues that can develop following treatment include scarring, skin puckering, changes in the color or texture of skin, size or shape asymmetry between the treated and untreated breast, and nipple distortion. For these reasons, consideration of oncoplastic procedures—which combine plastic surgery approaches with cancer treatment—may be appropriate for women considering breast-conserving therapy.

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