Toronto: Experts have warned that women who undergo mastectomies on one breast to prevent cancer from spreading to the other breast do not benefit from this procedure, as the risk of death remains unchanged.
In breast cancer cases, it has been observed that women diagnosed with cancer in one breast sometimes opt for a double mastectomy, meaning they have both breasts removed out of fear that the cancer will spread to the other breast and increase the risk of death. However, this is not the case.
A team led by Professor Dr. Steven Narod at the Women’s College Hospital in Toronto concluded that preventive measures against breast cancer did not show a reduction in mortality risk over a 20-year study. The study, conducted on over 600,000 patients, found that this decision does not provide any real benefit. Canadian researchers reported that while removing an unaffected breast reduces the chances of cancer appearing in that area, it does not change the likelihood of death from breast cancer.