The founder and lead surgeon of Lewisville Flower Mound Oncology talks about breast sparing treatments.

Lewisville, TX – Many of the 250,000 American women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer will find that a mastectomy is one of the recommendations strongly urged to help them fight this disease successfully. While long considered a major prong in an effective treatment plan, researchers are finding lumpectomies combined with radiotherapy may offer similar benefits.

A recent study looked at nearly 40,000 past cases. The results showed that women who underwent lumpectomies combined with radiotherapy often had stronger outcomes than those who only had mastectomies. In fact, the risk of death at the 10-year mark was lower in the lumpectomy group by 20 percent. The 10-year survival rate was also significantly higher for women who had radiotherapy and lumpectomies.

“The results are very promising for women who are interested in breast sparing procedures,” says Dr. Gregory Echt, founder and lead surgeon at Lewisville Flower Mound Oncology. “The study shows that it may be possible for women to choose this path and still obtain positive results if the extra step of radiotherapy is added into the treatment plan.”

Women diagnosed with breast cancer will find that mastectomies are commonly recommended because of their ability to effectively eradicate cancer-causing cells. The addition of radiation with a lumpectomy may, as the study indicates, produce the same, if not better, outcomes. This added form of treatment is highly effective at killing cancer cells, but it does come with some potential side effects women should be made aware of before choosing this route.

Women who are diagnosed with breast cancer are strongly urged to discuss all treatment options with their healthcare providers. The best recommendations are based on the particulars of a unique case. Radiation may or may not be recommended in addition to surgical tumor removal.

About Lewisville/Flower Mound Oncology Group

The Lewisville/Flower Mound Oncology Group has state-of-the-art facilities that offer individualized care to patients throughout North Texas. With a team of expert oncologists and other specialists on staff, the Lewisville/Flower Mound Oncology Group treats a variety of cancers and blood disorders with an eye towards the newest advancements available in diagnostic technology and treatments.