According to a HealthDay News report from 2008, the average cost of breast cancer treatment in the US is $20,964. This number includes far more than the cost of surgery alone; it also covers hospital fees, chemotherapy, drugs, and any combination of treatment options. For the surgeries alone, an article in the American Journal of Surgery in 2001 found the average cost of breast-sparing surgeries to be $4,748 and the average cost of mastectomies to be $6,280, in a study of hospitals between 1996 and 1997.