More Women Opting For Double Breast Removal

According to a ten year study, with the results published in the journal Cancer, there is a trend for more women opting for double mastectomies when faced with cancer in one breast.

"There is no evidence that having a preventive mastectomy improves survival, according to lead author Stephen Edge, a professor of surgery and oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Edge said, "We are not making a value judgment that this is good or bad." He added, "But it's an important trend. The concern is that we have women doing this out of a gut reaction" without sufficient counseling about risk." Medical News Today

According to the scientists working on the study, there was no clear reason for the increasing number of removal of both breasts(contralateral prophylactic mastectomies) even when there was a strong family connection to cancer.  The survival rates comparing lumpectomies and radical surgeries were not significantly different.  The choosing of such radical procedures goes against the modern trend of medicine to keep invasive procedures at a minimum.