Most women with breast cancer have some type of surgery. Surgery is often needed to remove a breast tumor. Options for this include breast-conserving surgery and mastectomy. The breast can be reconstructed at the same time as surgery or later on.ow long it takes to recover from breast cancer surgery depends on what procedures were done. Most women can return to their regular activities within 2 weeks after a BCS with ALND, while recovery time is often shorter for BCS plus a SLNB.