Many breast cancer patients wrongly believe that having both breasts removed — a double mastectomy — will improve their chance of survival, one study has found. “Our finding that so many women are receiving much more extensive surgery than needed to treat their disease is striking,” said study lead author Dr. Reshma Jagsi. Researchers surveyed more than 1,900 women treated for breast cancer and found that nearly half of them had considered having a double mastectomy. Many who had the more aggressive surgery had no risk factors, such as family history of breast cancer, that would increase their odds for cancer in the second breast.
