After Valerie was diagnosed with breast cancer, she knew she didn’t want to lose a breast. But the doctor she met with initially told her that the large size of her tumor made mastectomy the only option. When Valerie came to Memorial Sloan Kettering for a second opinion, her surgeon surprised her by suggesting a treatment plan that included chemotherapy to shrink the tumor prior to lumpectomy surgery, eliminating the need for Valerie to have a mastectomy.
