According to a survey, women who have cancer in one breast consider having both breasts removed because they worry about developing cancer in their other breast. About half of these women consider prophylactic mastectomy of their other breast even if they do not have any genetic mutations that would predict a second cancer.
The survey involved 117 women who were being treated at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. They all had early stage breast cancer in one breast and were surveyed before their first consultation for surgery. They had also undergone genetic screening that showed that they did not have the BRCA1 gene mutation, which would increase their likelihood that they would develop a second breast cancer.
The women's surgeons were surveyed after that first meeting about whether various surgical options were discussed, including prophylactically removing the other breast. The women also surveyed after the meeting and rated their perceived likelihood of having a second mastectomy.
Half the women said they were moderately or extremely interested in having their healthy breast removed before they met with the surgeon. The biggest predictors of their being interested in a prophylactic mastectomy were a low amount of knowledge about cancer and a higher amount of worry. Twelve of the women went on to have the second mastectomy. A higher amount of worry about cancer was a predictor in who ended up having the second mastectomy.
A woman may decide to have a bilateral mastectomy for many reasons, including that it might relieve her worry about developing breast cancer again. Many women have heard of high profile women like actress Angelina Jolie having such surgery. However, Jolie carries the genetic mutation that predicted she had a great risk for developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer, and she had also lost several relatives, including her mother, to cancer.
