Lumpectomy vs. Mastectomy

One of the first questions women must ask themselves is whether they want a lumpectomy or a mastectomy. Of course, most of us want the least invasive, safe procedure we can have and still be OK. So, what is a lumpectomy? And what is a mastectomy?
Many surgeons believe that small, local cancers usually are amenable to lumpectomies, which means removal of the tumor and its surrounding margin of normal tissue - rather than mastectomy, which removes the entire breast. Whether lumpectomy or mastectomy, patients with invasive cancers undergo a node-mapping procedure, in which a few lymph nodes are removed and examined to determine whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes in the armpit. In most cases, a lumpectomy is followed by radiation to prevent a recurrence. In some cases, patients also receive a course of chemotherapy or hormone therapy, he says.
The fact is, far more women will die of cardiovascular disease that cancer, but, of all the cancers a woman can get, most women fear breast cancer the most.