The BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes can carry certain mutation which can increase a women's susceptibility of getting breast cancer by 80%. After finding out that their likeliness of getting breast cancer are up 80% some have an option of a mastectomy which removes the breasts and can prevent the diseases by 90%. In the study they followed the data of 1,600 women with the BRCA genes from 9 countries. Half of the women got mastectomies and half did not. Of the half that did go through with the mastectomy there were 20 cases of breast cancer and 2 deaths. However, of the half who did not get the mastectomy there were 100 cases of breast cancer and 7 deaths.
In my opinion I think it is great that women have the option and ability to chose whether or not they receive a mastectomy. It does make me wonder in the future if there would be anything genetically we could figure out instead of having women either get a mastectomy or have an 80% chance of getting breast cancer. Overall, I'm glad that they can catch it early in some cases now within an individuals genes and hope that it keeps saving lives in the process.
Link: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2024-02-20/preventive-mastectomies-may-save-lives-of-women-with-breast-cancer-genes
Additional Link: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/breast-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20352470
I agree that in the future having other options besides mastectomies would be helpful. Hopefully there are some researchers finding out this answer right now and will come to a conclusion, or start of a conclusion soon.
ReplyDeleteHopefully studying the BRCA 1 and 2 genes will lead to more options for women to not have mastectomies. I personally know someone who lost their mother when we were 5 due to BRCA genes and now is faced with this issue that she is an adult. I know how hard the decision is for her personally, so hopefully more advancements and studies within breast cancer research will make it possible to wipe out genetic breast cancer.
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ReplyDeleteThis is a very helpful article! It is very interesting to see the rates of survival of those who received a mastectomy to those who didn't in the study. I think it is amazing that women have the option to get a mastectomy now to increase their chance of survival. As someone who has lost a family member to breast cancer I know how devastating it is. I hope that more studies and advancements can be performed in the future to prevent breast cancer altogether.
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