News You Can Use
The Option Surgeons Don't Discuss
By Nancy Plese
When your general surgeon discussed treatment options with you, did he or she mention breast reconstruction? If you’re like two-thirds of breast cancer patients, the answer is no, according to a study from the University of Michigan Medical Center.
Along with her team, Amy K. Alderman, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of plastic surgery at the university’s medical school, surveyed 1,844 women from the Los Angeles and Detroit areas who had undergone breast surgery. Only 33 percent of patients reported that their general surgeon had discussed reconstruction with them. But that talk made all the difference: Patients whose general surgeon had mentioned the option were four times more likely to choose a mastectomy than those who did not. In addition, “Surgeons were significantly more likely to have this discussion with younger, more educated patients with larger tumors,” Alderman’s team found.
Do general surgeons simply forget to refer patients to a plastic surgeon? Or do they have medical reasons for not bringing up the subject? Although her study didn’t explore this, Alderman says it proves the need for surgeons to tell breast cancer patients all their treatment options—and for women to educate themselves about their health so they can bring up issues their doctors may overlook.
