FOR PATIENTS · SOURCE READING

Will my breast have feeling after breast cancer surgery?

Source: Choosing Between a Lumpectomy and Mastectomy, National Cancer Institute.

Source updated: December 2, 2025 · Captured 2026-09-09.

Selected source text with whitespace normalised. This Triangle page is not an NCI PDQ summary. Independent clinical review is pending.

NCI patient treatment article for this disease Exact source article; not a clinically reviewed indication or current-standard recommendation.

Context: Choosing Between a Lumpectomy and Mastectomy / Compare lumpectomy and mastectomy / Questions about body image and quality of life after breast cancer surgery

Source table; cell spans preserved from the original.
Lumpectomy or other breast-conserving surgery	Yes. You should still have feeling in your breast, nipple, and areola.
Mastectomy	Maybe. After surgery, the skin around where the surgeon cut and maybe the area under your arm will be numb. This numb feeling may improve over 1 to 2 years, but it will never feel like it once did. Also, the skin where your breast was may feel tight.
Mastectomy with reconstruction	No. Most of the area around your breast will not have feeling.

Some surgeons are trying new techniques to preserve or restore breast feeling after a mastectomy. Find clinical trials studying this issue using our NCI-supported clinical trials search or ClinicalTrials.gov.

Source links and citations

Preserved source evidence · Independent clinical review pending · Not medical advice