Personal health behaviors in women who have undergone risk-reducing mastectomy

Risk-reducing mastectomy (RRM) remains an effective yet controversial modality for the primary prevention of breast cancer. Is the choice of RRM consistent with a generally proactive healthy lifestyle?

The National Prophylactic Mastectomy Registry is a volunteer database comprised of 460 women who have undergone bilateral RRM. Each patient received a questionnaire drawn from the Centers for Disease Control Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Their responses were compared with gender-specific national data from the Centers for Disease Control.

Women in the RRM group were statistically more likely to engage in risk-reducing personal health behavior including not smoking, exercising, maintaining their health, and taking advantage of screening programs.

Women in the registry who underwent RRM practiced a more "healthy" lifestyle than gender-matched controls. Therefore, the decision to have prophylactic surgery may have been part of a proactive approach toward their overall physical well-being.