From the AP:
More women who have cancer in only one breast are getting both breasts removed, says research that found the trend more than doubled in just six years. It’s still a rare option: Most breast cancer in this country is treated by lumpectomy, removing just the tumor while saving the breast.
The full story is here.
-Ralph Michael Stein
I did this.
While a lumpectomy wasn’t an option for me, I only had cancer in one breast, but I chose to have a double mastectomy. I was diagnosed at 28, and I have too many years ahead of me to worry about getting cancer in the other side. I had surgery 6 days after diagnosis, so it was a quick decision, but one that I always felt very at peace with. I know lots of breast cancer survivors – some who have opted for a bilateral and some who haven’t – and as the article suggests, I’ve never met one who said she regretted her decision.
I’ver met plenty, though, whose male doctors were hesitant or tried to talk them out of it – myself included, although my doctor wasn’t as concerned with it as some people’s seem to be.