It has a direct role in the treatment of many conditions. For example, lumpectomy for many benign lumps . Mastectomy is usually indicated in breast cancer , but can also be performed for other conditions such as Phyllodes tumour . In these cases, surgery is the principle method of removing the disease from the body. It may also be necessary to give adjuvant therapy after surgery has been performed, and in these cases radiotherapy, chemotherapy or hormonal therapy are often used.
Surgery is one method of staging breast cancer.
Suppose a woman has a lumpectomy for a lump that turns out to be cancer on pathology. It is then necessary to stage the disease. Examination of the axillary nodes by surgical removal at a second operation would be indicated and help with the staging process. Surgery can be used to palliate patients with incurable disease. However, it should be stressed that this is just an example, and in practice every patient is different and many options are available.