"Radical Surgery's Effect on the Modern Day Mastectomy"

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Recommended: History of radical mastectomy

What is radical surgery's role in eradicating breast cancer? Radical surgery is the extirpation of an area of the body that is locally ridden with disease. Typically, it is an extremely risky surgery and was once thought to be the solution to every type of cancer, excluding brain cancer. Today, this type of surgery most often deals with various different types of local cancer. In the case of breast cancer, radical surgery is used to remove all cancerous cells from the breasts. The name primarily associated with this bold, medical advancement would be Dr. William Stewart Halsted. Although Halsted did not invent the concept of radical surgery, he did perfect it and bring it to its extreme. Dr. Halsted paved the way for today's breast cancer treatment, and modifications of his courageous surgeries are still performed today. Without his risky radical mastectomy, the world would be a lot farther behind in the hunt for a cure for breast cancer.
Breast cancer was and still is the leading cause of death in women in the United States , and Dr. Halsted's number one goal was to reduce reoccurrence. He believed that the most effective way to reach this goal was to uproot the cancerous cells in the breasts, thus giving it its name "radical" mastectomy. The original mastectomy involved only removing the cancerous tumor, known today as a lumpectomy. After the aggressive disease returned, Halsted decided to remove the breast entirely. Frustrated with his negative results, he begins a tour through Europe to learn from some of the biggest names in surgery during the late 1800's throughout the early 1900's. Halsted wanted to keep cancer from taking over the body yet again. During his time in Europe, he witnesses his fellow surgeon, Volkmann, remo...

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...ves the entire breast and the nipple while leaving the pectoral muscles and axillary lymph nodes intact. This surgery has reduced the occurrence of breast cancer by 90%.

Works Cited

Benedet, Rosalind Dolores. After Mastectomy: Healing Physically and Emotionally. Omaha, Neb.: Addicus, 2003. Print.
"ERIC - Effects of Radical Mastectomy on a Woman's Feminine Self-Concept., 1972." ERIC - Effects of Radical Mastectomy on a Woman's Feminine Self-Concept., 1972. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
"Mastectomy Surgery - Comparing Types of Mastectomies." About.com Surgery. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
Mukherjee, Siddhartha. The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer. New York: Scribner, 2010. Print.
"Types of Mastectomy: Partial, Preventive, Radical." WebMD. WebMD, 03 Jan. 0000. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
"What Is Mastectomy?" Breastcancer.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014

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