Majority satisfied with prophylactic mastectomy decision

AORN Journal,  Nov, 2003  

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Women who underwent mastectomy of one breast because of breast cancer and chose surgical removal of the other, healthy breast to reduce the risk of developing a second breast cancer generally are satisfied with their decision, according to a June 1, 2003, news release from Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. The Mayo Clinic Cancer Center sent a survey to 621 women who had both personal and family histories of breast cancer and who chose to undergo a contralateral prophylactic mastectomy at the Mayo Clinic between 1960 and 1993. Contralateral prophylactic mastectomy is an option to reduce the risk of a second cancer in women who have personal or family histories of breast cancer, including women who have inherited abnormalities in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that predispose women to breast cancer. Five percent to 10% of the more than 200,000 women in the United States who are diagnosed with breast cancer each year are in this high-risk category. Research has shown that contralateral prophylactic mastectomy reduces a woman's risk of getting breast cancer by more than 90%.

Survey content focused on women's reasons for choosing contralateral prophylactic mastectomy, perceived risk of breast cancer, satisfaction with the procedure, self-esteem, body image, feelings of femininity, sexual relationships, emotional concerns about developing breast cancer, stress, and emotional responsibility. Of the 583 survey respondents, 83% were highly satisfied with their decision. Eight percent reported they had neutral feelings, and 9% reported they were dissatisfied with the surgery. Other findings included that

* 83% of the women experienced no changes or undesirable effects to their self-esteem after the surgery,

* 83% had no change or less stress in their lives, and

* 88% experienced no change or reduction of emotional distress.

Women who were dissatisfied with the procedure reported problems with body image, feelings of femininity, sexual relationships, and complications of reconstruction surgery after contralateral prophylactic mastectomy.

Survey Finds that Majority of Women Are Satisfied With Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy Surgery to Reduce the Risk of Breast Cancer (news release, Rochester, Minn: Mayo Clinic, June 1, 2003) http://www.mayoclinic.org /news2003-rst/1830.html (accessed 13 June 2003).

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