This year, more than 200,000 new cases of breast cancer  will be diagnosed in the United States. Surgical removal of the cancer lump (lumpectomy) is usually the first step. After this surgery, women with early breast cancer are offered Mastectomy  (surgical removal of the entire breast) or radiation therapy to the breast. Most women choose radiation because the survival rate for such treatment is the same as with mastectomy, and it allows the patient to preserve her breast.