When Less is More

In an article in the GoodHealth section of the July 2011 Good Housekeeping magazine, women undergoing a lumpectomy for breast cancer generally have the key "sentinel" node removed.  If it shows signs of cancer, more nodes are taken out, leaving patients vulnerable to painful arm swelling. 

But a study of 891 women at 115 medical sites, researchers found that extensive removal may not be necessary:  Whole-breast radiation and other therapies, routine after lumpectomy, treated cancer in the remaining node and survival rates were just as high.