I have a smaller tumour which can be removed at surgery with a lumpectomy. Why should I take part?

Taking endocrine therapy before surgery may reduce the number of repeat operations. This would also benefit women with smaller tumours.

It may also mean that less tissue needs to be removed allowing for a better cosmetic result, or that more complex oncoplastic (breast tissue rearrangement) surgery is not needed.

Mammograms and scans help us estimate the tumour size before surgery. We won’t know the exact size of the tumour until it is removed at your operation and analysed under a microscope.

We know that further operations are needed in around 1 in 5 (or 20% of) women who have a lumpectomy. This is because cancer was very close to the edge (or “margin”) of tissue removed at the first operation.

This often happens when the tumour ends up being larger under the microscope than expected from mammograms or ultrasound.