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Why do many women experience breast cancer recurrence after a mastectomy
by: Isabelle Z.
If you find out you have breast cancer, your first instinct might be to get rid of it using
whatever means possible. Having a mastectomy isn�t a decision any woman takes lightly,
of course, but, for many, the idea of sacrificing your breast to be cancer-free seems like a
fair trade to make. Unfortunately, however, having a mastectomy isn�t the end of many
women�s breast cancer story � and for some, it�s just the beginning.
In fact, breast cancer patients are actually more likely to see their cancer return and
spread in the first year and a half after getting a mastectomy or having their tumor
removed along with healthy surrounding tissue.
Now, a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has found that it�s actually
the healing process of the surgical scar that is causing women�s breast cancer to recur
after surgery. It�s a complicated mechanism that has to do with your immune system, whose
default mode is stopping the spread of cancer. While healing from a mastectomy, these healing
forces are distracted from their job of stemming the spread of cancer and forced to focus on
getting the wound closed up instead, preventing infections, spurring the growth of blood vessels,
and promoting repair. In other words, they�re simply too busy to keep cancer cells from
spreading to other body parts.
It�s this wound response that allows disseminated cancer cells to then grow and thrive, forming
tumors in other areas of the patient�s body such as the lungs, liver and brain. In many
cases, this can be even more dangerous than the original breast tumor, which is a very
scary prospect indeed.
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If you�ve already gotten a mastectomy or you have a good reason to do so, you can try
to minimize the chances of this happening to you through a healthy diet. Consuming foods
rich in antioxidants can help fight against cancer and protect your body from its spread.
Some excellent choices include leafy green vegetables, dark chocolate, and berries. All
of these are useful even if you don�t have cancer as they support a healthy immune system
in general.
The researchers also suggest that anti-inflammatory medicine could help keep the immune system
under control so the cancer can�t spread. Tests with mice showed that this was another
effective route, but more studies are needed to see just how successful it may be in humans.
Mastectomy doesn�t reduce risk of cancer death
A study of more than half a million American breast cancer patients over the course of
eight years found that a double mastectomy does not offer significant protection to women
from a recurrence of their cancer. There are a few specific cases where it may be useful,
such as in those with a strong family history of ovarian or breast cancer or a personal
history of radiation, but by and large, double mastectomies aren�t helping women live longer.
This is particularly concerning against the backdrop of rising double mastectomies involving
one cancerous and one healthy breast, a procedure that rose from 4 percent of patients in 2002
to almost 13 percent in 2012. In some cases, women are undergoing the procedure out of
a fear of recurrence that experts say is disproportionate to the true risk, while others might be pushed
into it by profit-minded doctors.
Cancer is absolutely terrifying, but it�s important to consider all the facts before
undergoing such a dramatic procedure. Getting a second and even third opinion can sometimes
help put things in perspective, especially from a doctor who won�t be profiting from
the operation, and researching alternatives can help give people peace of mind. Sometimes
a mastectomy really is the best choice, but many of us have been conditioned to believe
that surgery and chemotherapy are the only ways to rid ourselves of cancer, and that
simply isn�t always the case