Biopsy and breast lumpectomy are used in different stages of the conventional breast cancer journey. However, these two procedures have a lot more in common than you may think. Both are considered “breast-conserving” or “breast preservation” procedures, and both come with some pretty dangerous side effects as well.
When deciding to do either one, in the end you need to do what you feel is best for you and your health. Arming yourself with the right information about biopsies and lumpectomies can help you make that decision with confidence and empowerment.
Breast Lumpectomy and Biopsy Both Carry the Risk of Spreading Cancer Tumor Cells
In a conventional medical setting, it is commonplace for a doctor to recommend a biopsy in order to gather more information after abnormalities are found in the breast area. A biopsy consists of the insertion of a needle into the area in question in order to “remove a piece of tissue or a sample of cells from the body so that it can be analyzed in a laboratory” (according to the Mayo Clinic).
Then, if a cancer tumor is discovered, an oncologist may recommend that a lumpectomy be performed instead of a mastectomy in order to remove a cancerous tumor without removing the entire breast. A breast lumpectomy consists of the removal of the “lump” (i.e. the breast tumor) and usually some of the healthy tissue that surrounds the tumor as well. Often this is called a partial mastectomy.
You may be under the impression that surgery is a more natural way of dealing with cancer because it is a mechanical procedure that does not involve drugs (except for pain medication afterwards). However, just like mastectomy, both biopsy and lumpectomy need to be considered as invasive surgeries that come with the same basic dangers as a major operation.
Any time there is interface with a cancer tumor in a surgical setting, including biopsy, the natural barriers that would normally keep the tumor contained to a particular area are breached. This could enable cancer cells to escape and metastasize to other parts of the body through the surgical margins. An Italian study on over 1,000 patients published in the British Journal of Cancer concluded that:
“Surgery should be considered as a major perturbing factor for metastasis development in laboratory animals. The different time distribution of mortality…suggests that primary tumour removal could result in changes of the metastatic process even for breast cancer.”
Important Considerations Before Going Ahead With a Biopsy or Lumpectomy
Here are some other factors to consider regarding biopsy and lumpectomy:
- Surgery, just like any other physical trauma, will induce immune suppression. It will also initiate an inflammatory response that could cause cancer cells to proliferate.
- Also as part of the trauma response, during surgery the body will secrete specific growth factors in an effort to quickly instigate healing. Unfortunately, this response can have the opposite effect when it comes to cancer since these same substances can also cause tumor cells to grow.
- Cancer cells are sticky: their surface acts very much like Velcro, enabling them to adhere to each other as well as to blood vessel walls. An experiment that mimicked cancer surgery conditions found that the ability of cancer cells to stick to blood vessel walls increased by a whopping 250% during procedures.
- Surgery reduces production of Natural Killer cells and stunts their activity. NK cells’ main job is to seek out invasive and harmful pathogens such as cancer cells and eat (i.e. destroy) them.
- A 2011 study published in the journal The Annals of Surgery found that surgery itself can cause the right environment for cancer to grow and spread, in part because of the shutdown of the immune system that occurs during surgery.
- Finally, there is an established link between investigative breast cancer biopsy and metastasis to the sentinel lymph nodes in particular. A 2004 study conducted by researchers at the John Wayne Cancer Institute, Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, found that “manipulation of an intact tumor by FNA (Fine Needle Aspiration) or large-gauge needle core biopsy is associated with an increase in the incidence of SN metastases, perhaps due in part to the mechanical disruption of the tumor by the needle.”
Is Biopsy Necessary?
It is understandable that some women want to know the specifics of their breast cancer, which a biopsy may be able to provide. However, the opinion of many experts is that “cancer is cancer;” the root cause is basically the same no matter what form of cancer you have been diagnosed with.
In terms of the natural treatment protocols you may deploy in healing cancer, the specifics of your form of breast cancer may not matter. This is because the “herbal chemo” supplementation protocols, detoxing methods, and changes in diet and lifestyle and other modalities will, in large part, be the same across the board.
Alternatives to biopsy DO EXIST and can present you with additional information about your cancer with far less risk to your health. These may include the ONCOblot® test and thermography screening, among others. In addition, the RGCC Greece blood test can give you insights as to specific genetic and stem cell markers.
Actions to Boost Your Immune System and Help Your Body Heal After Surgery
If you have already had an invasive surgery such as a lumpectomy, mastectomy, or biopsy, here are some actions you can take NOW to help your body repair and keep your immune system strong:
- Modified Citrus Pectin prevents cancer cells from sticking to the walls of blood vessels. Some studies say by up to 95%! Studies and experts recommend 14 grams of MCP be taken daily for a period of one year after any surgery (including a positive biopsy).
- Medicinal mushrooms, garlic, glutamine, and IP-6 (inositol hexaphosphate) all have the ability to boost Natural Killer Cell activity. In addition, some studies show that mistletoe extract taken before surgery can lessen the suppression of Natural Killer Cell activity.
- Genistein, milk thistle, EGCG in green tea (especially in matcha green tea), and curcumin have all been reported to help reduce vascular growth factors in metastatic cancer. In several studies, curcumin reduced the mass of tumors themselves by between 60 and 80%.
The choice to go forward with biopsy and/or lumpectomy is a personal one. Know the facts before you decide so that your decision will be a sound one which is in alignment with a healthy breast lifestyle overall.
Article Summary
Both breast biopsies and lumpectomies are considered “breast-conserving” or “breast preservation” procedures that come with some potentially dangerous side effects.
According to the Mayo Clinic, a biopsy consists of the insertion of a needle into the area in question in order to “remove a piece of tissue or a sample of cells from the body so that it can be analyzed in a laboratory.”
A breast lumpectomy consists of the removal of the “lump” (i.e. the breast tumor) and usually some of the healthy tissue that surrounds the tumor as well. Often this is called a partial mastectomy.
Any time there is interface with a cancer tumor in a surgical setting (including biopsy), the natural barriers that would normally keep the tumor contained to a particular area are breached. This could enable cancer cells to escape and metastasize to other parts of the body.
Surgery will induce immune suppression which can initiate an inflammatory response that could cause cancer cells to proliferate. It also reduces production of Natural Killer cells whose main job is to seek out invasive and harmful pathogens such as cancer cells and destroy them.
Alternatives to biopsy DO EXIST and can present you with additional information about your cancer with far less risk to your health. These can include the ONCOblot® test, thermography screening, and the RGCC Greece blood test among others.
If you’ve already had invasive surgery such as a lumpectomy, mastectomy, or biopsy, here are some foods and supplements you might consider to help your body repair and keep your immune system strong:
- Modified Citrus Pectin
- Medicinal mushrooms, garlic, glutamine, and IP-6 (inositol hexaphosphate)
- Genistein, milk thistle, EGCG in green tea (especially in matcha green tea), and curcumin
Experimental evidence shows that surgical removal of a primary tumor stimulates the growth of metastatic sites. The primary tumor has an inhibitory effect on the growth of metastatic tumors. Cancer must be treated as an organ system as all tumors, tumor cells and micro-metastasis are intricately interconnected. Localized cancer treatments as opposed to systemic treatments offer little value to the patient and increase risk of aggressive metastatic spread and growth. It is more likely than not that cancer is already metastatic prior to the detection of a tumor. So removal of the primary tumor is therefore of no value and actually promotes metastatic growth.
A biopsy is sometimes necessary to determine tumor biology to help plan appropriate treatment. Since tumors shed cells into the lymphatic system and blood stream at an early stage of tumor development, a biopsy is not necessarily so risky. Metastasis has already began long ago.
Hi what if I had a fine needle and core biopsy and the dr’s say they dont have enough tissue to determine what type of cancer it is. I have an appointment for a lumpectomy this monday.
Kind regards Florence
Hi Florence.
I’d find another doctor!
I can’t believe, that they don’t have enough tissue to determine what type of cancer. How long have they been doing biopsies?!
One biopsy should have been enough.
Sounds suspicious to me. There are risks involved with lumpectomies.
I would get a second opinion.
Best of luck.
Natural Progesterone Cream melts lumps in the breast and fibroids….been there, got the T shirt!. Google John R. Lee M.D.
Can you tell me more Josephine?
In my opinion, one should use thermography to detect breast cancer, because it is radiation free and it can detect the number of years that the cancerous lump has been in. I think that hyperthermia and ozone therapy should be used to treat all stages of breast cancer instead of radiation therapy and chemotherapy, because cancer cannot live in heat and oxygen and one does not feel ill, lose their hair, feels nauseous, develops numbness and cold sores with those mild therapies. Medicinal mushrooms, curcumin, and certain types of green teas should be recommended to people who have any stage of breast cancer, but stores can you buy those particular products?
The Oncoblot test is under investigation by the FDA and the College of American Pathologists after I reported to both these entities my personal experience with this test. Long story short, in March 2016, I had a positive Oncoblot test for ENOX2 proteins shed by breast cancer cells (or so they claim), but an MRI with contrast and a surgical biopsy under general anesthesia produced no findings. Further, 6 months after the Oncoblot test (this past September 2016), I had a mammogram and ultrasound….still no evidence of cancer.
Well, it is my understanding that this test can pick up something produced by cancer cells long before cancer can be detected. So the idea is to have time to institute healing modalities of which there are evidently many. I think it is best to leave the FDA out of it. Not your friend.
Also, this TTAC article suggests the use of the Oncoblot test as an alternative to traditional radiographic screenings and biopsy. The fact is that no reasonable general surgeon would even remotely consider performing a mastectomy based upon the results of a non-FDA approved blood test, which is what Oncoblot is..non-FDA approved. Not to mention, no health insurance plan would provide benefits for surgical intervention based upon this non-FDA approved blood test, either.
I had a total hysterectomy in 2013 for uterus cancer, at my last CAT scan the doctor saw something in my lungs and want to do a biopsy with needle. What other options I have to determine if cancerous cells.
Among other benefits, surgery with the CO2 laser seals the blood and lymph vessels decreasing the opportunity for cancer cells to spread. Ultimately one will still need to address the disease at a systemic level with appropriate protocols. The CO2 laser has many advantages, however, compared to the scalpel.
Who and where offers this treatment?
So you just google cansurviving for ways to heal yourself?
This is my 3rd attempt to comment. My post is not showing up on your thread for some reason.
The real alternative to biopsy is the Cancer Profile (aka CA Profile). It is performed in Florida by American Metabolic Laboratories – a comprehensive, non-invasive, blood and urine cancer markers panel that can detect the disease at a very early stage (pre-cancerous stage, prior to a tumor size of 2 million or more cells). Its track record shows the presence of the marker(s) years before the patient becomes symptomatic with a visible mass by MRI, CT, X-ray, Thermography. The CA Profile is not looking for a tumor by size, but rather, for some of its products produced prior to visibility.
The Profile was designed and perfected by Dr. Schandl for the past 30 years, and to date over 40,000 patients were evaluated with an 87 to 97% accuracy. The CA Profile can be used by patients and practitioners for managing therapy. It is recommended prior to, during, and after a certain treatment modality. However, it may be done at any time. One of the main values of the test is detection of a potential deadly disease before it may be realized by other methods. Hence you may take advantage of its preventive value by adding it to your annual check-up.
How is the ozone therapy applied for breast cancer?
I have a 3cm tumour in my bladder and they want to do a CT Urogram then surgery please could anyone advise?
Joan in UK
Moderator: I replied to this post one week ago but as of yet it has not uploaded. Kindly advise. Thank you.
Dr. Ansenelli on Long Ialand, NY.
I am 38 years old and just recently been diagnosed with Breast Cancer, Stage 1. The doctor that we are seeing is recommending that I go for a lumpectomy of the tumor and radiation for 4-6 weeks. I would like to know:
1. If I consider just to go for Lumpectomy without radiation but by boosting my immune system with natural supplements, will this be effective or help to keep safe the breast to not have ca anymore?
2. If I don’t go for Lumpectomy, what other options do I have naturally to remove the ca?
3. If I go for lumpectomy and radiation, is this safe? how can i make sure that the ca doesn’t go elsewhere?
Hi Lei,
We cannot provide you with medical advice so, the best advice we can give you is to consult with one of the doctors/experts that we interviewed in our Global Quest Series. Here is a link to get their information: https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/experts-info-sheet/
Best wishes!
thank you so very much.! I am a health coach sharing this with everyone! I have always had this belief but not anyway to really explain it to people. May I print it?
Jeana Anderson
Natural Helping Hands, LLC
Hi Jeana –
Thanks for sharing your love and support with us.
You’re welcome to print this article with reference for personal use, but please be sure not to print and distribute this as your own.
Thank you for reaching out to us about this.
Blessings and love!
My friend is needing a bone marrow biopsy to rule out blood cancers. Is this unsafe also? Any alternatives if so?
Discovered a pea size lump on my chest wall after a totally healthy life and moving to a mercury infested place (found out later). Wanted the lump removed but Dr’s said had to have a biopsy (extensive tests concluded no cancer elsewhere). I knew nothing and afterwards read that the lump should be removed from the body ASAP when found and tested afterwards. That’s when my nightmare started. The biopsy caused the lump to explode bigger, and turn red with great pain (none before). Asked Dr and all they said was the reaction was not the norm. Then had to schedule the removal at a much larger size and they wanted to do the lymph nodes. Said no to their removal and after reading the side effects was happy I didn’t.. The biopsy did just as this article states and interestingly I left the area ASAP and new DR told me they had wrote up in my file that was the condition of the lump when I came to them. Dr’s outright lied about it. Also tried to tell me CA was genetic when no one in my family had it. Finally cornered my retiring DR about the poisoned condition where I lived and she admitted they have an environmental problem they are aware of. Many young women with CA there. Conclusion was the CA spread elsewhere. Wasted time on hormone therapy that did nothing and then got to Capcetabine that works. Moral of the story is don’t believe the Dr’s and do your own research to conclude choices for you. They literally try to use excessive pressure to do it their way which turned out wrong. They also told me after operation another CA type came up in area and needed radiation (read about the negatives of that treatment). Subsequent test by second Dr. surprisingly told me there was no other type of CA present. You are their guinea pig is my conclusion. Capcetabine by the way eliminated the subsequent lymph node lumps. Good thing I refused. They use the same methodology for decades and refuse to treat you unless you go their way. Do your research first and don’t react to the fear. Feel confident as you can on your choice. Hope this helps others.