Surgery may remove the whole cancer when it is confined to the breast and adjacent lymph glands. It has been recognised for many years however, that patients with seemingly localised cancer are at some risk of relapse within the remaining breast tissue or at distant sites. In some cases, microscopic disease is present at the time of diagnosis and surgical treatment even though it cannot be currently identified by scans or blood tests.

Adjuvant therapy include; radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormonal treatment and biological therapies (antibody treatments). These treatments may be offered as they aim to eradicate microscopic amounts of cancer that might remain following surgery for breast cancer. The risk of relapse and the potential benefits of adjuvant treatments can be estimated from information derived by pathological examination of your tissue taken at the time of surgery: for example features such as the size of the cancer, how aggressive it appears and the number of lymph glands affected. Recently, more complex tests on the tumour tissue may provide additional information to help establish the risk of disease recurrence.

We will help you weigh up the benefits versus any potential side effects for you.