Prophylactic Mastectomy For High-Risk Women

If you have a very high risk of developing breast cancer, you may have the option of getting what’s called a prophylactic mastectomy. You may be high-risk if you have a strong family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer, and have certain mutations in the BRCA1 or the BRCA2 gene, or mutations in several other genes associated with breast cancer risk.

The actress Angelina Jolie made her decision to have a prophylactic double mastectomy public after she tested positive for the BRCA1 gene. (Her mother died from ovarian cancer at the relatively young age of 56.) Other women may elect to have a double mastectomy after they find a lump in one breast. It’s a very personal decision. For some women, removing the life-long anxiety about getting breast cancer, or having the cancer recur in the breast if they’re already been diagnosed, is the overarching factor in choosing this option.

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