Choosing to remove all our breast tissue or just have tumours removed is a decision we may have to face if we are diagnosed with cancer in this location. Total mastectomies are more radical and sometimes they are thought of as the safer option when it comes to protecting our wellness from the condition later in life. But now new evidence is suggesting that having just tumours and local breast tissue removed could be as effective as complete mastectomies on our survival rates.
Types of surgery
Lumpectomies help to preserve our breast tissue because surgeons focus on just removing tumours and some healthy skin around lumps. This can make breast re-construction more straightforward and may not have as much impact on our self-image as total mastectomies, which involve removal of all breast tissue and some muscle from this area. As some breast tissue is left in lumpectomies, there are fears that this leaves our wellbeing vulnerable to getting cancer again, which may motivate us to choose more radical surgery. But a Duke Cancer Institute study shows that for some tumours women who chose to have just lumps removed had 19 per cent less chance of getting terminal breast cancer than women who got mastectomies.
Health outcomes
Researchers monitored the lives of 112,154 US women who had been given a diagnosis of stage I and II breast cancer, with 39 per cent of deaths in the group resulting from the condition. Clinicians working on the study found there appeared to be an increased survival rate in women having lumpectomies even when they accounted for age, stage, type of cancer and race. Although, lead researchers explain that some data was unavailable that could also help explain the results.
They highlight how the study did not take into account genetic history for the condition. Those choosing mastectomies may have opted for the more radical procedure because of a genetic link that eventually affected their health for example. There are many different types of procedure we can choose if we get diagnosed with this condition and this study shows it’s important to chat to our GPs and think about our genetic history and what’s best for us.
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