Neither pregnancy after breast cancer nor the use of oral contraceptive pills before a diagnosis of breast cancer has been shown to adversely impact survival when controlled for stage of disease. These findings provide the rationale for prospective clinical trials testing the safety of HRT for women with a history of breast cancer. Genetics Women with a family history of breast cancer may have an increased risk of disease. Age-specific risk estimates are available to help counsel and design screening strategies for these women. In addition, mutation carriers may be at increased risk of other primary cancers.
Genetic testing is available to detect mutations in members of high-risk families.
Even when these tests permit earlier detection of recurrent disease, patient survival is unaffected. Reconstruction For patients who opt for a total mastectomy, reconstructive surgery may be used. If a saline implant is used, a tissue expander can be inserted beneath the pectoral muscle. Saline is injected into the expander to stretch the tissues over a period of weeks or months until the desired volume is obtained. The tissue expander is then replaced by a permanent implant.