| Psychosocial outcomes after prophylactic removal of the contralateral breast in women with unilateral breast cancer
Our
research reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology suggests
that preventive mastectomy prevents future breast cancer and that women’s
psychosocial outcomes are driven more strongly by issues related to aging
and surviving breast cancer than by their preventive mastectomy. A
large majority of women were satisfied with their decisions to have the
preventive mastectomy in addition to their primary breast cancer
treatment. Women who had the
preventive mastectomy were equally content with their quality of life as
women who didn’t. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that preventive mastectomy is a major surgical procedure likely appropriate for a very small percentage of women with breast cancer. We encourage women with breast cancer to carefully consider their treatment options in consultation with their physicians, family and friends.
Bibliographical reference:
Ann M. Geiger Department
of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Division of Public Health Sciences,
Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
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