After the surgery is completed, a bandage will be placed over the incision site. Tubes (drains) may be placed in the breast or underarm area to keep fluid from pooling during healing. These usually remain in place for a week or two and are removed once drainage has been reduced to about 1 ounce a day.

There is usually not an excessive amount of pain with lumpectomy. Patients may experience tightness or strain, especially under the arm. In addition, there may be numbness in the breast tissue and armpit. Some of the feeling in these areas may return, however, for some women, the numbness can persist for months, years or even the rest of their lives.

Before being discharged, patients will be instructed by their physicians and nurses on how to care for themselves in the immediate post-surgery period. Such instructions should include information about:

• Care for the wound, dressing and drains
• How to spot an infection or lymphedema
• Conditions requiring medical attention
• Exercises and techniques to prevent arm stiffness
• Clothing options, including bra usage
• Dietary suggestions to promote healing
• Drug recommendations for pain and discomfort
• Limitations on activities

Within a week after surgery, patients return to see their physician for a post-op appointment. During the visit, the surgeon will check the site for healing and will usually review and report the details of the laboratory’s pathology report. Depending on the results of the tests, the physician will discuss options for further treatment. Sometimes, analysis will find cancer at the edge of the piece of tissue removed, which means the lumpectomy did not remove all of the cancer cells along the margin. In such situations, the patient may undergo a second surgery in which more tissue is removed from the breast (re-excision). This second surgery increases the chances that all of the cancer cells have been removed from the area.

After all surgery related to the lumpectomy is finished, a course of radiation therapy is usually necessary to kill any remaining cancer cells or to help ensure that the cancer does not return. In some cases, chemotherapy is also recommended, particularly if cancer was detected in the lymph nodes.

Though chemotherapy may or may not be needed, radiation therapy is almost always required following a lumpectomy. About a month after the initial surgery, radiation treatment sessions begin in an outpatient center. Typically, this will consist of treatments five days a week over six weeks.