Surgical care is one of the primary treatment modalities for locoregional breast cancer; radiotherapy and systemic therapy are the other primary modalities. Surgical care for breast cancer requires expert surgical training and coordination of care. The type of surgery will depend on the disease stage, tumor characteristics, patient preferences and resources available for neoadjuvant (preoperative) and adjuvant (postoperative) treatments. A breast tumor can be removed by mastectomy (removal of the breast) or lumpectomy/breast conserving surgery (removal of only the tumor or lump and some surrounding tissue). A modified radical mastectomy (removal of the breast and most of the axillary [under the arm] lymph nodes) is most often performed when breast conserving surgery is not an option. In low-resource settings, modifed radical mastectomy is the standard surgical treatment. As more resources are available, breast conserving therapy (BCT), which includes breast irradiation after surgery, becomes an option. Systemic therapy is usually administered after surgery as adjuvant therapy, but it may also be given before surgery as neoadjuvant therapy.