According to experts at the Mayo Clinic, US nonprofit medical institution located in Rochester, Minnesota, if breast cancer is early diagnosed, it’s possible to significantly reduce the risk of developing a new cancer in the other breast.
Treatment for breast cancer does not require the removal of a healthy breast, but the belief that cancer may develop again drive many young women diagnosed with cancer in one breast to remove both, producing long-term side effects in the body.
According to Judy C. Boughey, a breast cancer surgeon at the Mayo Clinic, mastectomy is surgery that involves removing the majority of breast tissue from a breast as a way to treat or prevent cancer. For cancer prevention, this surgery reduces the risk of developing breast cancer by about 90 to 95 percent. It is not 100 percent because some areas of breast tissue do remain after a mastectomy. Those areas of tissue could develop breast cancer, although the chances of that happening are very small.
When a woman has a mastectomy to treat cancer in one breast, she could have the breast that does not have cancer removed at the same time (double mastectomy). Some women opt to do this because they are anxious about developing cancer in the other breast. However, research shows that this decision does not have an impact on overall survival.
Dr. Boughey explained that current medical evidence indicates the risk of developing a cancer in the other breast is reasonably low at about 0.5 percent a year. For women who have hormone therapy after a mastectomy because their tumors are hormone receptor positive, this risk is even reduced by about 50 percent.
However, certain factors can make a difference in such risk – e.g. a strong family history of breast cancer, or having a mutation in one of the breast cancer genes. In such cases the chances of developing cancer in the other breast are significantly higher.
Boughey said that is important that patients carefully review their personal risk of breast cancer with their doctor, before making the decision about having a double mastectomy.
If there are no other factors that raise the risk of developing cancer in the other breast, there are additional aspects to consider. First, a double mastectomy is a more complex and longer operation; therefore increases the possibility of surgical complications, such as bleeding and infection. Second, if both breasts are not removed, regular mammograms are needed once a year on the remaining breast. Third, if one breast is reconstructed after a mastectomy, it is unlikely that the remaining breast will match its appearance without some type of cosmetic surgery on the natural breast.
Finally, Dr. Boughey recommended to patients talking with their doctors about this topic to answer any questions, and know the possible advantages and disadvantages of each option for their particular situation.
Through: Notimex
