Double Mastectomy Essay

When individuals learn they have breast cancer or have a high risk of obtaining this disease, many actions can be taken to remove cancerous cells depending upon what stage of cancer is diagnosed. One type of action could be a single or double mastectomy, the removal of a breast or both breasts through surgery. Many women with high risks of breast cancer prefer to take preventative measures to lower their chances, yet many of these preventative actions are not always effective. One website explains, “Bilateral prophylactic mastectomy lowers the risk of breast cancer in woman at high risk by at least 90 percent” ("Prophylactic Mastectomy”). Mastectomies are proven to eliminate the odds of breast cancer by a significant amount; however, they
Many women can undergo a delayed- immediate reconstruction, where “a tissue expander or ordinary breast implant is inserted under the chest muscle and preserved breast skin after the breast is removed” (“When”). When an expander is introduced into the muscle it allows for the stretching of the skin to eventually reach the point of an implant insertion. “A tissue expander is a balloon-type device that stretches the skin to create a “pocket” for the reconstructed breast under the skin” (“When”). Once recovery time from the insertion of the expander has been given a solution will be injected into the expander as a way of stretching the skin. “A tissue expander is an empty breast implant that will be filled with normal saline over 6 to 8 weeks. This process slowly stretches your skin and pectoralis muscle (large muscle in your chest). When your expander reaches the size your surgeon and you agree upon, we will stop the expansion process” (“Breast”). This tedious process is almost complete after the injection of saline has been completed. “About 4 to 8 weeks after the tissue expansion is finished, you will have a second surgery to remove the tissue expander and insert the permanent breast implant”