Study: Single Mastectomy, a Popular Option for Latinas, Worsened Cancer Survival Rates

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mastectA 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, especially Filipina or Latina, with lower income and less insurance.

Why do Latinas choose single mastectomies?

According to NPR, one factor affecting these women could be lack of access to medical care, said Scarlett Gomez, a researcher at the Cancer Prevention Institute of California and the senior author of the study.

“For instance, a woman who has breast-conserving surgery typically has to go for radiation every day for six weeks to kill remaining cancer cells. Lower-income women may have a hard time doing that, Gomez says. ‘The only option available to them may be unilateral mastectomy,'” according to the report.

The study authors say the results don’t rule out a double mastectomy as a treatment option.

Rather, they hope the results “will open a dialogue between a patient and her physician to discuss these kinds of questions.”

“It’s an important piece of evidence that can guide their decision-making process,” Gomez said.

Read more about the study here.

 

By The Numbers By The Numbers

25.1

percent

of Latinos remain without health insurance coverage

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