For years, there has been debate over the relative merits of a mastectomy versus a lumpectomy.
Now there is new information that might answer the question for some breast cancer patients.
A study in the journal "Cancer" seems to indicate that having a lumpectomy with radiation is the better option.
Researchers followed 113,000 women with breast cancer for five years after their diagnosis and treatment.
When it comes to a lumpectomy versus mastectomy, those treated with a lumpectomy and radiation had a 13% lower mortality rate from breast cancer. They also had a 19% overall lower mortality rate from any cause.
