(Thumbnail image from Sky News)
“According to a report published inside the journal Cancer, more and more women are turning to prophylactic mastectomy, a preventative procedure for high-risk breast cancer patients that removes the unaffected breast. Researchers studied data from New York's cancer registry, analyzing over 69,000 cases. They found that from 1995 to 2005, the number of prophylactic mastectomies more than doubled.” (Insider Medicine)
As Breast Cancer Awareness Month begins, we’re looking at media perspectives on why more women are choosing to have radical mastectomies -- often choosing to have healthy breasts removed and why doctors are concerned about that choice.
We have insight from The Baltimore Sun, NBC, WebMD, MSNBC, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The LA Times and CBS News.
You'll see that sources are divided over the factors leading to the increase. First, a blog from The Baltimore Sun points to the issue of health care.
“[There are] concerns that some women are being treated too aggressively and whether doctors are doing the right thing for patients.”
In a report from NBC’s Today Show, one doctor says opting for the preventative procedure can be a matter of cost.
“I've seen women choose to have a mastectomy in order to avoid radiation for money reasons. I've seen them choose not to have construction. We've had many patients flip to a less expensive drug…[white flash] It is a choice she says no woman should have to make.”
In an article from WebMD, a health information Web site, a breast cancer surgeon credits the trend to other factors.
“Greater social acceptance of double mastectomies and improved cosmetic surgery techniques are...reasons for the growing numbers.”
But on MSNBC's Dr. Nancy program, a breast cancer specialist and a breast cancer survivor debate the study's findings.
“What the study was looking at though that's more disturbing is the number of women who don't have the mutation, who have breast cancer in one breast and elect to have their other breast removed preventatively. Their risk of cancer in their other breast is very low, less than one percent. And their risk of probably having their cancer come back again is higher than that so this is what seems to be overkill.”
In a report from The Atlanta Journal Constitution one doctor goes a step further, calling the procedure unnecessary and explaining its consequences.
“...getting unnecessary surgery is expensive, and a lot of women who have this done tend to have post-operative complications and tend to delay the treatment of their primary cancer.”
In a report from the LA Times and on CBSNews.com‘s Health and Wellness program, doctors say women need more counseling before choosing a procedure.
“The concern is that we have women doing this out of a gut reaction. No one is really counseling women in detail about their risk.”
“Take a little bit of time. This is not like a heart attack. This is not like a brain aneurysm. There’s a little bit of time that you can spend getting a second opinion, talking to different doctors, and having concepts explained that may be very useful down the road.”
Why do you think more women with breast cancer are deciding to remove a healthy breast?
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