What is a mastectomy? Put simply it’s a breast amputation which can be used to remove either one, both or just part of a ladies breast. Why would you want one? Well, a lot of ladies led by celebrities are using this radical treatment to try and remove their chances of breast cancer. In some cases this is after they’ve had it once and beaten the disease, these women don’t want it to recur. In other cases ladies who are in at risk groups of breast cancer (genetically predisposed etc.) are pre-empting the disease by removing their breasts early.
A double mastectomy is a very aggressive form of treatment. Think of it as lopping off a limb due to the chance of a splinter. As long as ladies have check their breasts regularly for lumps or bumps and even try go into health centres for the occasional mammogram, their chances of suffering late stage breast cancer is fairly low. Breast Cancer is imminently treatable in its early stages and a very high proportion of women who are diagnosed are treated and cured without issue.
In some cases, where a patients is pre-disposed to breast cancer and it’s likely that the condition with reoccur aggressively then the treatment might be advised. As with all things, we at Yourwellness suggest a long discussion with your GP before deciding to remove a part of your body. It’s a big step to take and if you’re not in an at risk group it might be entirely unnecessary.
Another important factor to remember with any amputation is that some tissue will always be left behind. This is still breast tissue and as such is still susceptible to breast cancer. No treatment has 100% success rates but a double mastectomy is a powerful preventive measure, that’s for sure!
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