Ill-Advised Breast Removal Poor women are getting mastectomies when they aren't necessary, a new study says. It's time for some hard answers from breast cancer specialists and surgeons. They've been sitting on a powder keg issue concerning the health of women for far too long. An article published this month in the Journal of the American Medical Women's Association provides a summary and analysis of key studies on breast cancer treatment and raises serious questions about medical conduct. It's cheaper to remove a breast.
Lumpectomies also require follow-up radiation.
In Texas, for example, a study of breast cancer treatment at one large urban hospital revealed that 84 percent of the women with early stage breast cancer had mastectomies and only 16 percent had lumpectomies. The women who lost their breasts were mostly poor. If a doctor was trained before 1981, his patient is much more likely to have a mastectomy. Obviously old medical habits die hard. Research is clear that lumpectomies are as safe as a mastectomy for most women with early stage disease.