Study: Single Mastectomy, a Popular Option for Latinas, Worsened Cancer Survival Rates
A new study finds no survival benefit for the increasingly popular double mastectomy procedure after an early-stage breast cancer diagnosis, compared to breast-conserving surgery with radiation—but single mastectomies, a popular choice among Latinas, actually showed worse survival rates, NPR reports. In the study of 189,734 women, the number of double mastectomies increased, while single mastectomies decreased. Survival rates were surprising: 83.2% survival rate: Breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy). 81.2% survival rate: Double mastectomy. 79.9% survival rate: Single mastectomy. Those who chose double mestectomies tended to be middle- or upper-class, younger than 50 or non-Hispanic white, or some combination of these. Those who chose single mastectomies tended to be minority, ...
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