Do Women Often Regret Having a Prophylactic Mastectomy?

— -- Question: Do women often regret having a prophylactic mastectomy?

Answer: I have not had in my practice but maybe one or two women who had a prophylactic mastectomy that, when they came back to see me, regretted it. And I think it's very important, up front, to these patients who are contemplating prophylactic mastectomy that you have a very long discussion with them. Have them talk to a patient who has had prophylactic mastectomies; get your nurse involved; get a psychologist involved, just to be sure that they know all the reasons that they're doing it.

And if you, and if the patient is aware of the reasons they are having a prophylactic mastectomy, I do not think that they will regret doing that. I do think, however, that if all of those avenues aren't covered, and the patient just pops in and has a prophylactic mastectomy, that you run the risk of them regretting it down the road. But, I think, with proper patient education, that can be avoided.

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