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Fortunately for many women, once an initial tumor has been detected and surgically removed, there is little chance of tumor recurrence. With the use of radiation, systemic chemotherapy, or tamoxifen the risk of recurrence may be further reduced. A number of women, however, will have tumors that recur either locally (in the treated breast or breast wall) or at a distance (in the form of metastatic disease).At one time the fear of tumor recurrence led many physicians to advocate radical mastectomies or modified radical mastectomies to patients initially diagnosed with breast cancer, in the hope of eliminating the tumor totally and preventing tumor recurrence. We now know that lumpectomies or partial mastectomies often are equally effective in completely removing the primary tumor.If another breast cancer develops after a lumpectomy or partial mastectomy, it may be a recurrence of the original tumor or it may be a new and unrelated cancer. If such a tumor develops on the chest wall outside the normal breast tissue or adjacent to the mastectomy site, it is likely that the original cancer has recurred.Unfortunately, there is then a high risk that the cancer will spread to other parts of the body.*36\320\2*