Preventative post mastectomy breast removal out of fear. What you need to know.

 

Preventative post mastectomy breast removal out of fear. What you need to know.

An alarming trend has emerged with more women considering so called prophylactic (preventative) healthy breast removal which has no proven benefit. Fear of the unknown is a powerful motivator and after the scare of being diagnosed with breast cancer, many women are opting to have the other breast removed, with the belief that it will prevent them from becoming ill.

A new article discusses this and other than the disfigurement, it has other side effects from having surgery to areas that were not affected. Read the article below:

Removing unaffected breast in women with cancer results in little benefit, many problems

(NaturalNews) Several celebrities have been in the news lately, because after being diagnosed with cancer in one breast, they decided to have both breasts removed. The procedure, known as contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM), is offered to women as a kind of insurance. Supposedly, it will greatly reduce the odds they will not get breast cancer again.

Although the rates of this surgical procedure are soaring, the real proof of whether it is worthwhile has been lacking. However, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have just announced the results of research showing CPM provides little significant benefit — but it can have significant negative effects on women.

In fact, the study shows that the surgery actually reduces the measure of life expectancy that takes into account quality of life (technically called “quality-adjusted life expectancy”) among women who do not have hereditary breast cancer. About 90 percent of women with breast malignancies do not have cancers known to be caused by genetic factors. So that means the new findings apply to the vast majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer who are treated with mastectomy.