{"id":1433,"date":"2022-10-06T10:07:23","date_gmt":"2022-10-06T10:07:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/breast-care-center-of-miami\/?p=1433"},"modified":"2025-11-18T15:05:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T15:05:58","slug":"prophylactic-mastectomy-does-mastectomy-prevent-breast-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.toplinemd.com\/breast-care-center-of-miami\/blog\/prophylactic-mastectomy-does-mastectomy-prevent-breast-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Prophylactic Mastectomy Breast Cancer Prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"

When diagnosed with a rather high risk of potential breast cancer growth, some women decide to have both of their breasts removed surgically. This particular procedure is known as bilateral prophylactic mastectomy or just preventative mastectomy. During this preventive breast cancer surgery, the doctor’s goal is to remove all of the breast tissue that could potentially allow for cancer to form and grow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just because you may be deemed at high risk of getting breast cancer, doesn’t mean you will undoubtedly get it one day; it only means that this is more likely to happen to you than to someone else who’s not high risk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All surgical procedures have their pros and cons. The same goes for prophylactic mastectomy. This is why discussing your risk levels and other preventative measures with your doctor is crucial. You can always rely on professional services when it comes to <\/span>breast cancer prevention in Miami, Florida<\/span><\/a>, so don’t hesitate to report anything you may find unusual or suspicious.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What Is Prophylactic Mastectomy?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Removing one or both breasts before there is any sign of breast cancer is called a prophylactic mastectomy. There are different types of this surgical procedure. In case both breasts have to be removed as a preventative measure, the common term is prophylactic double mastectomy or bilateral prophylactic mastectomy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though a preventative mastectomy can reduce the likelihood of getting cancer by as much as 90%, it is still possible to develop the disease despite the procedure. This is because even a preventive breast cancer surgery cannot completely eliminate the presence of breast tissue. The residual breast cells may still become malignant at some point.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Is Preventative Mastectomy Effective?<\/b><\/h2>\n

If you have a family history of breast cancer or carry the BRCA gene mutation, preventative double mastectomy could reduce your risk of breast cancer by as much as 100%. There are several factors at play, nevertheless, that influence the degree to which risks are mitigated. Non-high risk factors, such as discomfort, fibrocystic breast disease, pain, dense breast tissue, a fear of cancer, or a family history of breast cancer, were also the reason enough for some women to have a preventative mastectomy.<\/span><\/p>\n

In about 10 percent of cases, women who have had their breasts removed still end up developing breast cancer. However, after undergoing preventive breast cancer surgery, patients in the vast majority of trials were not diagnosed with breast cancer. Many of them, however, wouldn’t have been deemed as high risk.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, prophylactic double mastectomy still cannot eliminate all breast tissue. Therefore, some doctors think that preventive double mastectomy is not a good option, even for high-risk women. Women with a BRCA mutation or premenopausal status who develop endocrine receptor-negative breast tumors are the only groups reported to have a potential survival advantage after undergoing preventative mastectomy.<\/span><\/p>\n

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When Should Bilateral Prophylactic Mastectomy Be Considered?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Preventative double mastectomy should only be considered for women who are significantly at risk of developing breast cancer. That said, at least one of the following conditions warrants the procedure:<\/span><\/p>\n