My oncologist has recommended that I start chemotherapy before surgery. What are the benefits of this and are there other options?

Rebecca J. Jaslow, MD

Academic Title: Clinical Assistant Professor

Board Certifications:
Medical Oncology, Hematology, Internal Medicine

We sometimes think about giving neoadjuvant chemotherapy, or chemotherapy before surgery,  to treat a larger size tumor in the breast.  One benefit of this is that in many cases, we can downstage the tumor with this approach, enabling the surgeon to do a lumpectomy (removal of just part of the breast) as opposed to a mastectomy (removal of the whole breast).