Preventive Mastectomy Satisfying

Preventive Mastectomy Satisfying: "Survey Shows Patients Don't Regret Decision to Remove Disease-Free Breast By Salynn Boyles
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD
on Friday, March 17, 2006


More From WebMD


Breakthroughs in Breast Cancer Treatments
Considering Reconstructive Surgery? Consult Our Guide
What Should Do if You Have the Breast Cancer Gene?



March 17, 2006 -- Breast cancer patients who chose to have a healthy breast surgically removed along with the diseased one tend to be satisfied with the decision, a new survey shows.
Preventive mastectomy is an option for women to reduce risk of developing breast cancer in the other breast, particularly in those with high risk for recurrence.
Bianca Kennedy, now 40, chose it five years ago while being treated for cancer in one breast, and she says she has never regretted it.
Kennedy had undergone a lumpectomy and was in her third month of chemotherapy when her sister was diagnosed with breast cancer for the third time.
'That made my decision easy,' she tells WebMD. 'I told my doctors I wanted both breasts removed. They had not tried to push me into doing it but after I said it was what I wanted they told me they thought it was the wisest thing to do.'
Fears Remain for Many
Women who have cancer in one breast have a three- to fivefold higher risk of developing a second cancer in the opposite breast, and the risk is even higher among women with a family history of the disease.
Studies suggest that the removal of one or both breasts can reduce future breast cancer risk by about 90%, according to the National Cancer Institute.
In the newly published study, 519 women who had a disease-free breast removed while being treated for breast cancer were surveyed along with 61 breast cancer surviv"

more info at:
www.dreddyclinic.com