A large new study of California women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer has found that those choosing to have both breasts removed survived no longer than those choosing more conservative treatments. The findings, published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, come as increasing numbers of American women undergo double mastectomies. We discuss the report and its implications for breast cancer education, treatment and prevention.
New Study Questions Benefits of Double Mastectomy
(MYCHELE DANIAU/AFP/Getty Images)
Guests:
Allison Kurian, assistant professor of medicine and of health research and policy at Stanford University Medical Center and lead author of the new double mastectomy study
Scarlett Lin Gomez, research scientist at the Cancer Prevention Institute of California and senior author of the mastectomy study
Karuna Jaggar, executive director of Breast Cancer Action, an education and advocacy organization for women living with and at risk for breast cancer
Michael Alvarado, associate professor of clinical surgery at UCSF and director of UCSF's Breast Surgery Oncology Fellowship
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