Deciding to have a
mastectomy without actually having breast cancer is not necessarily the radical alternative it might appear to be. An increasing number of high-risk women make the choice to have prophylactic mastectomy—many after testing positive for
BRCA gene mutations. But the routes to this difficult decision can be quite different.
"For me, the surgery was a no-brainer."
(SARA DALY ROTER)
• Sara Daly Roter's mother had breast cancer—and so did both of her
grandmothers. So three years ago the Manhattanite, then 27, got tested for the BRCA gene mutations. "It was scary for me, but there was no question that I wanted to know," says Roter. "I didn't think too much about it—until it came back positive."
Roter was reeling when the genetic counselor gave her the news. "It didn't sink in when she was first telling me. She explained that I was at greater risk, that I needed to be screened earlier. She told me there were programs for
high-risk women."
More about breast cancer risks
Roter set up a meeting with an oncologist to discuss a screening schedule—check-ups every six months—but in the end opted for prophylactic double mastectomy with immediate
reconstruction, which she had in July 2007. "For me, the surgery was a no-brainer," she says. "To be tested every six months for the rest of my life; that was too nerve-wracking. I can't live like that. It's just a matter of waiting till it finally shows up, until you're diagnosed with it."
