A Canadian study suggests that women who get a double mastectomy surgery, instead of removing just the cancerous breast, increase their chances of surviving the cancer.
A double mastectomy, the study has found, is effective in women who carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic mutation. The researchers encourage women to get a double mastectomy in lieu of a single mastectomy to increase their lifespan.
Dr. Kelly Metcalfe, lead author of the study, says that women with a BRCA gene mutation are 60 percent to 70 percent more likely to develop breast cancer at some point in their life.
Women who get a single mastectomy are at a 34 percent risk of getting breast cancer in their other breast within 15 years following a surgery.
"For these women, we need to think about treating the first breast cancer, but also about preventing a second breast cancer," said Dr. Metcalfe.
The study included 390 women who were suffering early-stage breast cancer with either the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.
The study found that women who receive a double mastectomy are about 50 percent more likely to survive for more than 20 years following the surgery, in comparison to women who receive a single mastectomy.
In total, 79 women died due to breast cancer. This included 18 patients who had undergone a double mastectomy and 61 patients who had a single mastectomy.
Dr. Metcalfe recommends that women with the BRCA mutation who have already undergone a single mastectomy should speak to their doctors regarding the risks of developing breast cancer in the other breast. In opting for a double mastectomy, women may also consider reconstructive surgeries, she said.
Breast cancer awareness has increased in many parts of the world after Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie revealed in May 2013 that she underwent a double mastectomy because she was at high risk of developing breast cancer.
The actress also recently shared that she had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed as she was at elevated risk of developing ovarian cancer.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among American women. In 2011, more than 220,000 American women were diagnosed with the disease and about 41,000 lost their life to breast cancer.
Photo: James Palinsad | Flickr
