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Study: Women Not Adequately Informed Prior to Breast Removal
HealthPartners is first to study information needs of prophylactic mastectomy patients
August 28, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - A new national study that included HealthPartners patients published in the current Cancer Nursing journal found that women would like more information before breast removal. This is the first study asking directly about information needs of women who undergo prophylactic mastectomy. A prophylactic mastectomy is the surgical removal of one or both healthy breasts (including the nipple) from women who are at a high risk of developing breast cancer.
Sharon Rolnick, the study's principal investigator from HealthPartners Research Foundation said, "Women who do not yet have breast cancer often undergo preventative breast removal for many different reasons. For example, women may have their breasts removed if they previously had cancer in one of their breasts, if there is a strong history of breast cancer in their family, if they received positive results from gene testing or if with a family history their breast is showing irregularities."
Rolnick said that although breast removal may be the best breast cancer prevention option for many women, the study found that women were often not adequately informed of all aspects before they underwent the procedure, citing nearly two-thirds of women who wished they had more information.
Women surveyed sought more information regarding:- The procedure:
- Recovery time
- Expectations of post-procedure physical appearance
- Photographs of women before and after
- The size and extent of scarring
- After surgery (buying bras, where to find support groups, exercises, future mammography, etc.)
- Potential Complications
- Reconstruction/Implants
- Implant maintenance
- Pain and discomfort of implants
- Unnatural look of implants/nipples
- Risks of silicone
- Numbness
- Psychological preparation/potential for depression
HealthPartners Research Foundation
HealthPartners family of care includes HealthPartners Research Foundation (www.hprf.org). Conducting about 150 research projects each year, the Foundation is dedicated to advancing scientific knowledge through research to improve the health of our members and the community. Founded in 1957, HealthPartners (www.healthpartners.com) serves more than one million medical and dental health plan members nationwide and is the largest consumer-governed, nonprofit health care organization in the nation, providing care, coverage, research and education to improve the health of members, patients and the community.
About HealthPartners
Founded in 1957, the HealthPartners (www.healthpartners.com) family of healthcare companies serve more than one million medical and dental health plan members nationwide. It is the largest consumer-governed, nonprofit health care organization in the nation, providing care, coverage, research and education to improve the health of members, patients and the community. For the third year in a row, HealthPartners is rated one of the best commercial health plans in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, NCQA's "America's Best Health Plans 2007" and is ranked "Highest in Member Satisfaction among Commercial Health Plans in the Minnesota-Wisconsin Region" by J.D. Power and Associates.
Contact: 952-883-5252
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