In the 1970s, women's health advocates were highly suspicious of mastectomies. They argued that surgeons -- in those days, pretty much an all-male club -- were far too quick to remove a breast after a diagnosis of cancer, with disfiguring results.But today, a new generation of women want doctors to take a more aggressive approach, and more and more are asking that even healthy breasts be removed to ward off cancer before it can strike.
Researchers estimate that as many as 15 percent of women with breast cancer -- 30,000 a year -- opt to have both breasts removed, up from less than 3 percent in the late 1990s. Notably, it appears that the vast majority of these women have never received genetic testing or counseling and are basing the decision on exaggerated fears about their risk of recurrence.
In addition, doctors say an increasing number of women who have never had a cancer diagnosis are demanding mastectomies based on genetic risk. (Cancer databases don't track these women, so their numbers are unknown.)
"I think the medical community has taken notice. We don't have data that say oncologically this is a necessity, so why are women making this choice?" said Dr. Isabelle Bedrosian, a surgical oncologist at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Improvements in breast reconstruction may be a factor, along with celebrities who decide to undergo preventive mastectomy.
NEW YORK TIMES
OPPORTUNITY IS MARS' OLDSTER
Opportunity, NASA's other Mars rover, has tooled around the red planet for so long it's easy to forget it's still alive.
Some 5,000 miles away from the limelight surrounding Curiosity's every move, Opportunity this week quietly embarks on its 10th year of exploration -- a sweet milestone since it was only tasked to work for three months.
