Jan 26, 2009 6:00 pm US/Eastern
Health: Radical Step For Breast Cancer Survivors
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
Doctors hope a new study will help breast cancer patients make a very agonizing decision. An increasing number of women are taking the radical step of having their healthy breast removed to prevent cancer.
As a breast cancer patient, and mom of three, Bridget Cochran's worst fears came true.
"I'm more afraid for my kids for, they won't have me. That's what I'm afraid of," said Bridget.
Three years after having one breast removed, she developed a tumor on the other side, and had to have another mastectomy.
"If I would have known then, what I know now, yes, I would have gotten the second one removed the same time," said Bridget.
In fact more and more women are taking that agonizing gamble, having their healthy breast removed in hopes of getting ahead of cancer.
The latest figures show preventive mastectomies are up 150-percent.
"Fear is a big motivating factor. They've been through it once, they don't want this to happen again," said Dr. Sharon Rosenbaum Smith, a Breast Cancer Surgeon.
Now a new study may help women make that difficult decision. Doctors have identified three distinct risk factors for developing a tumor in the second breast. They include multiple tumors in the original breast, an original tumor that started in the milk ducts and spreads, and a high breast cancer risk according to age, race, and family history.
But other doctors are concerned about unnecessary mastectomies. They point out that chemotherapy and hormone therapy can be good alternatives to surgery.
"Tamoxifen or Arimidex, those two drugs, not only treat the cancer that a patient had, but also decreased the risk of developing a future cancer," said Dr. Rosenbaum Smith.
Deciding on the best treatments to prevent the risk of getting cancer in a second breast is complicated and different for each woman.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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