Glossary
Lumpectomy
(lum-PEK-toh-mee)
Surgery to remove cancer or other abnormal tissue from the breast and some normal tissue around it, but not the breast itself. Some lymph nodes under the arm may be removed for biopsy. Part of the chest wall lining may also be removed if the cancer is near it. Also called breast-conserving surgery, breast-sparing surgery, partial mastectomy, quadrantectomy, and segmental mastectomy.
Definition from the National Cancer Institute’s NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms.