Breast Cancer: Treatment part 2

Removal and evaluation of some of the underarm lymph nodes during surgery is usually recommended to determine whether the tumor has spread beyond the breast. In women with early stage disease, sentinel lymph node biopsy, a procedure in which only the first lymph nodes to which cancer is likely to spread are
removed, has a lower chance of long-term side effects and is as effective as a full axillary node dissection, in which many nodes are removed.