Breast cancer surgery accompaniment for a few days

Written by Zhang Chao Jie
Breast Surgery
Updated on October 19, 2024
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The duration of postoperative care for breast cancer surgery depends on the extent of the surgery. This includes modified radical mastectomy, classic radical mastectomy, and surgeries that preserve both the breast and the axilla. For surgeries that preserve the breast and axilla, patients typically recover quickly, and generally, providing care for three to five days is more than sufficient. However, to ensure patients feel comforted and cared for, it's common to provide care starting the day before surgery until the patient is discharged. Postoperative care tends to be longer for modified radical mastectomies that include axillary clearance, as care is needed until the patient can fully manage the arm on the operated side on their own. Therefore, the care duration varies depending on the individual and their recovery. Thus, the shortest duration of care is usually for surgeries that preserve both the breast and axilla, typically sufficient within three to five days.

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How does one get breast cancer?

How is breast cancer caused? Regarding the causes of breast cancer, the primary factor should be family history. If a first-degree relative has breast cancer, then the likelihood of developing breast cancer increases. The second factor is reproductive factors; for instance, if the age at menarche is quite young, menopause age is relatively late, menstrual cycles are short, there is no childbirth or the age at first full-term pregnancy is older, there are fewer childbirths, and there is a lack of breastfeeding, then the incidence of breast cancer is also higher. The third factor involves hormones, possibly related to endogenous hormones or exogenous hormones, such as those mainly associated with oral contraceptives used externally. The fourth major point is a high-fat diet, or habits like drinking alcohol, smoking, and a diet low in vitamins, which may increase the risk of breast cancer. The fifth point involves other factors, such as exposure to significant amounts of ionizing radiation, chemicals from cancer drugs, lack of physical exercise, and occupations, such as working in the beauty industry or pharmaceutical manufacturing, etc., which may also increase the chances of developing breast cancer.

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How to cure breast cancer?

In the treatment of breast cancer, early detection is very important. In the early to mid-stages of breast cancer, the cure rate is quite high, generally up to 99%. Therefore, if it is breast cancer, timely surgical treatment should be carried out. In the later stages, depending on the specific pathological conditions, it should be evaluated whether radiotherapy or chemotherapy is needed. Breast cancer patients, with active cooperation in treatment, have a great chance of being cured.

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Late-stage symptoms of breast cancer

The first symptom of advanced breast cancer is a lump in the breast, which may be larger than before, or there may be multiple lumps that are fixed to the surrounding tissues and have limited mobility. The second symptom is nipple discharge, which could be watery, serous, or milky. The third possible sign is changes in the skin, such as dimpling or an orange-peel texture. The fourth point includes the retraction of the nipple, abnormalities in the areola, and thickening and reddening of the nipple skin. The fifth point can involve pain in the breast. In advanced stages, the cancer may directly invade the nerves. Sixthly, advanced breast cancer may lead to metastases; for example, brain metastases might cause symptoms like nausea, vomiting, headaches, and dizziness. If there are bone metastases, especially multiple bone metastases, symptoms could include pain in the lower back and pain along the sciatic nerve, among others.

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Types of breast cancer surgery

Breast cancer surgery types are generally still dominated by modified radical mastectomy. Modified radical mastectomy can be divided into two types; one preserves both the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor muscles, and the other removes the pectoralis minor muscle but preserves the pectoralis major muscle. Another option is breast-conserving surgery, which is feasible for tumors smaller than three centimeters and at least two centimeters away from the nipple. Nowadays, sentinel lymph node biopsy has become popular. If it proves that the sentinel lymph node has no metastasis, a single mastectomy can be performed.

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Breast Cancer Screening Methods

Breast cancer screening methods start with manual palpation to check for lumps. Second, mammography is used, which is the most effective method for early diagnosis of breast cancer with a sensitivity of 80%-90%. Additionally, breast ultrasound and B-ultrasound examinations can be performed, which are simple, safe, and non-invasive. Another available method is breast MRI, which provides more accurate differentiation between benign and malignant tumors. Lastly, a biopsy using a hollow needle can also be done.