Oct 25, 2007 10:43 pm US/Central
More Young Women Facing Mastectomies
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
A recent report says more and more young women are facing a life-changing choice -- losing their breasts to save their lives. CBS 2 Medical Editor Mary Ann Childers reports on one of the toughest decisions a woman could ever make.
Lindsay Avner was 22, single, and suddenly facing some terrible news.
"To find out you have almost a 90 percent risk of developing breast cancer and 65 percent for ovarian cancer… it felt like someone had kind of... the shoe had just dropped," Avner said.
She had tested positive for a gene called BRCA1, which greatly increases cancer risk. She started rigorous breast and ovarian screenings. The stress, she said, was awful.
"I was having migraine headaches three or four times a week," Avner said. "I was living my life on fast forward."
At age 24, Avner made a tough decision. She had both breasts removed.
"The women who do make this decision are very highly motivated," said Rush University Medical Center oncologist Lydia Usha, M.D.
Usha says preventive mastectomy does cut the breast cancer risk 85 to 100 percent. But she says the standard recommendation is removing the ovaries by age 35, which works against both cancers. Avner plans to have hers out -- kids or no -- by 32.
Thirty-three-year-old Tiffany Harvey may be more typical. She wants time to decide. She tested positive for the gene in April, but the idea of recovering from major surgery with three children at home is overwhelming.
"Obviously if I knew I wasn't going to have breast cancer I wouldn't do it," Harvey said. "If I knew I was going to have breast cancer, I think I would do it."
Avner wanted surgery on her terms, not because of cancer.
"It's peace of mind and it's the ability to take away a lot of the uncertainty which was so frightening," she said of her decision.
As difficult as this decision is, Harvey is still glad she had the genetic test.
"I'm lucky I found out about it 'cause otherwise I wouldn't have had any screenings until I was 40, which at this point seems horrifying ..." she said.
Avner has started a foundation for very young women at high risk for breast and ovarian cancer; it's called "
Bright Pink." Harvey is involved in a group called "
Facing Our Risk."
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