I am sorry to read about your situation. It does sound like this is a difficult and frightening time for you.
When breast conserving surgery is carried out the abnormal area is removed including a margin of healthy tissue around the tumour/s. This will decrease the volume of breast tissue that remains but without being involved in your care we can't say what this may be for you. I suggest you ask your breast surgeon or breast care nurse who will be in a better position to answer this question.
We have some information about breast conserving surgeryon our website. Breast Care Now also have a webpage on surgery for breast cancer which you may find useful.
A Magseed is a marker that is used for localising impalpable breast lesions. It is smaller than a grain of rice and is removed with the tumour during surgery so should not make any difference to the overall cosmetic outcome of the surgery.
During surgery, the closest lymph node to the cancer (sentinel lymph node) will be checked for cancer cells. This is called a sentinel lymph node biopsy. If no cancer cells are found in the sentinel lymph node and in the surrounding healthy tissue that is removed, there is a good chance that the cancer has not spread elsewhere.
Recovery after breast surgery will look different for every patient. It is important to look after yourself and allow your body time to heal.
I hope this helps and you know more about your situation soon.
Please get back to us if you need any more information or support. You may find it helpful to talk things through with one of the nurses on our helpline. The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.
