Women are increasingly choosing to get “preventative” mastectomies
~ Double mastectomy rates increase – YouTube
~ Mastectomy rises for early-stage breast cancer – YouTube
~ Study: More women opting for preventive double mastectomy – CBS News
~ Why Have Double Mastectomy Rates Tripled Since 2005? – ABC News – VIDEO
- ~ Doctors stumped as more breast cancer patients remove healthy breasts – Los Angeles Times
- ~ Mastectomies Increased 36 Percent From 2005 to 2013, Report Finds – ABC News
- ~ Mastectomies on the rise, breast cancer rates the same – WRIC 8
- ~ More cancer patients choosing breast removal, reconstruction — but at what cost? – Chicago Tribune
- ~ More Women Choosing ‘Preventive’ Double Mastectomy – ABC News
- ~ More women having double mastectomies – NBC News
- ~ More women opting for preventive mastectomy – but should they be? – NBC News
- ~ More women with cancer in one breast are having double masectomies. That might not be a good idea – Washington Post
- ~ Preventive Mastectomies Still High Among Women At Low Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence – Time
- ~ Researchers find increase in double mastectomies – Los Angeles Times
- ~ Study finds ‘staggering’ rise in mastectomies in these states – CNN
- ~ U.S. Women More Likely to Have Mastectomy – WebMD
Even men are increasingly getting mastectomies
- ~ Double mastectomies for men with breast cancer on rise – CNN
- ~ More Men With Breast Cancer Opting for Double Mastectomies – ABC News
In 2013 Angelina Jolie wrote a celebrity op-ed encouraging women to get a preventative double mastectomy:
~ Angelina Jolie had double mastectomy to reduce risk of breast cancer – YouTube
- ~ Angelina Jolie has double mastectomy due to cancer gene – BBC News
- ~ Angelina Jolie- I Had Double Mastectomy – Newser
- ~ Opinion – My Medical Choice by Angelina Jolie – The New York Times
This created the “Angelina Jolie Effect”, a surge of women began opting to get preventative mastectomies that are medically unnecessary:
~ “Angelina Jolie effect”: Breast cancer testing soars after Jolie’s double mastectomy – YouTube
~ Breast Cancer and the ‘Angelina Jolie Effect’ – ABC News – VIDEO
~ How The ‘Angelina Jolie Effect’ Increased Cancer Screenings – YouTube
~ Local double mastectomy patient shares impact of Angelina Jolie’s decision – YouTube
~ Local woman chooses preventative double mastectomy – YouTube
- ~ Angelina and breast cancer copycat surge: Doctor warns patients are requesting double mastectomies even if they don’t need one – Daily Mail Online
- ~ ‘Angelina Effect’ Boosts Breast Cancer Referrals, Study Finds – ABC News
- ~ Angelina Effect: Doctors warn over worrying rise in double mastectomies after Jolie’s operation – Daily Mail Online
- ~ Angelina Jolie And The Rise Of Preventive Mastectomies – NPR
- ~ ‘Angelina Jolie effect’ on breast cancer screening endures – CBC News
- ~ ‘Angelina Jolie effect’ tracked for cancer gene screening in Canada – CBC News
- ~ Angelina Jolie’s breast cancer op-ed may have cost the health system $14 million in unnecessary tests – Vox
- ~ Angelina Jolie’s Surgery May Have Doubled Genetic Testing – Time
- ~ Blowback to the ‘Angelina effect’ as experts warn Jolie’s decision leads to greater anxiety and unnecessary tests – National Post
- ~ Breast cancer test ‘Angelina Jolie effect’ found – BBC News
- ~ Double mastectomies increase after high-profile celebrity surgeries – The Courier Mail
- ~ Dueling studies: The ‘Angelina Jolie effect’ is influencing women fighting cancer – but the influence may not do much good – Washington Post
- ~ ‘Jolie effect’ on breast cancer – BBC News
- ~ Mastectomy study confirms ‘Jolie effect’ on breast cancer prevention – Chicago Tribune
- ~ Study: The ‘Angelina Effect’ Persists – Newser
- ~ The ‘Angelina Jolie effect’- Her mastectomy revelation doubled NHS breast cancer testing referrals – The Independent
- ~ The ‘Angelina Jolie Effect’- Mastectomy Revelation Doubled Breast Gene Test Referrals – HuffPost UK Life
- ~ The ‘Jolie Effect’- How Celebrities Influence Our Medical Decisions – NBC News
- ~ The unintended consequence of Angelina Jolie’s viral breast cancer essay – Washington Post
There is an ongoing epidemic where thousands of women are unnecessarily getting mastectomies:
~ Why Double Mastectomy is Unnecessary – YouTube
~ Why many breast cancer patients get surgery they don’t really need – YouTube
- ~ Fear of Breast Cancer May Lead to Unnecessary Mastectomies – ABC News
- ~ Is double mastectomy necessary, or even healthy? – USA Today
- ~ Many preventive mastectomies may be unnecessary – Harvard Health
- ~ Most Double Mastectomies Are Unnecessary, Study Finds – Newsweek
- ~ Most breast cancer patients who get preventive double mastectomy don’t need it – CBS News
- ~ Most Women Who Get Double Mastectomy Don’t Need It, Study Finds – NBC News
- ~ Most women who have double mastectomy for breast cancer ‘don’t need it’ – BizNews
- ~ Some Women Undergo Unnecessary Double Mastectomies – HuffPost Life
- ~ Study: Many breast cancer patients opt for unnecessary preventative mastectomies – CBS News
- ~ Unnecessary mastectomies: Patients more fearful than they need to be – Los Angeles Times
- ~ Why Are So Many Women Getting Unnecessary Mastectomies? – Mother Jones
Studies have shown that A MASTECTOMY DOES NOT INCREASE CHANCES OF SURVIVAL FROM CANCER:
~ Double Mastectomy-Survival Rate Link Questioned – YouTube
~ Local reaction to breast cancer study – YouTube
~ Study Prompts San Diego Doctors, Patients To Question Breast Cancer Treatment Strategy – YouTube
~ Surprising New Study About Women With Breast Cancer – YouTube
- ~ Double Mastectomies Don’t Yield Expected Results, Study Finds – NPR
- ~ Double mastectomies may not increase chance of survival – ABC7 Los Angeles
- ~ Double Mastectomies May Not Increase Life Expectancy – HuffPost Life
- ~ Double mastectomies on the rise, but surgery doesn’t boost breast cancer survival rate – CTV News
- ~ Double mastectomy doesn’t boost survival for most breast cancers – CBS News
- ~ Double mastectomy may not be best choice for survival, study says – SF Gate
- ~ Double Mastectomy Rise Doesn’t Boost Cancer Survival Rate – Bloomberg
- ~ Doubt Is Raised Over Value of Surgery for Breast Lesion at Earliest Stage – The New York Times
- ~ Preventive mastectomy does little to extend life of breast cancer patients – CBS News
- ~ Preventive mastectomy doesn’t benefit most, study finds – CHRON
- ~ Removing Both Breasts May Not Improve Survival From Breast Cancer – Time
- ~ Researchers- Unnecessary Double Mastectomies Do Not Improve Chances Of Avoiding Recurring Breast Cancer – CBS New York
- ~ Should women with breast cancer opt for double mastectomies? – Fox News
- ~ Study: Double Mastectomy Doesn’t Boost Breast Cancer Survival – NBC News
- ~ Study: More breast cancer patients should keep their healthy breasts – Los Angeles Times
Most women are then pressured to get breast reconstruction surgery after a mastectomy
Mastectomies often have complications and side effects
Women are frequently misdiagnosed with cancer and wrongfully have their breasts removed
~ Woman sues over allegedly unnecessary hysterectomy, mastectomy – CBS News – VIDEO
- ~ ‘I’m Permanently Damaged.’ Woman Sues After She Says Doctors Unnecessarily Removed Her Breasts and Uterus – Time
- ~ Mastectomy Mistake Fuels Debate – CBS News
- ~ Woman claiming unneeded mastectomy, hysterectomy- “They robbed me of who I was” – CBS News
- ~ Woman claims she got unneeded mastectomy and hysterectomy based on doctors’ shoddy diagnosis – New York Daily News
- ~ Woman wrongly diagnosed with cancer had unnecessary mastectomy, suit claims – Fox News
- ~ Woman gets double mastectomy after being told she carried BRCA gene – then finds out she doesn’t – Daily Mail Online
- ~ Wrong Women Getting Double Mastectomies, Study Finds – ABC News
Reports
“Angelina Jolie Effect”
- ~ Angelina Jolie’s mastectomy triggered sharp rise in gene testing – The BMJ
- ~ Angelina Jolie’s mastectomy triggered sharp rise in gene testing – The BMJ – Sci-Hub.se – PDF
- ~ Do celebrity endorsements matter? Observational study of BRCA gene testing and mastectomy rates after Angelina Jolie’s New York Times editorial – The BMJ
- ~ The Angelina Jolie effect: Contralateral risk-reducing mastectomy trends in patients at increased risk of breast cancer – Scientific Reports – Nature
- ~ The Angelina effect: immediate reach, grasp, and impact of going public – Genetics in Medicine – Nature
- ~ The Angelina Jolie effect – Impact on breast and ovarian cancer prevention A systematic review of effects after the public announcement in May 2013 – SAGE Journals
- ~ The Angelina Jolie effect – Impact on breast and ovarian cancer prevention A systematic review of effects after the public announcement in May 2013 – Sci-Hub.se – PDF
- ~ The Angelina Jolie effect- how high celebrity profile can have a major impact on provision of cancer related services – Springer Link
Increase
Unnecessary
- ~ Perceptions, Knowledge, and Satisfaction With Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy Among Young Women With Breast Cancer- A Cross-sectional Survey – Annals of Internal Medicine
- ~ Perceptions, Knowledge, and Satisfaction With Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy Among Young Women With Breast Cancer- A Cross-sectional Survey – Annals of Internal Medicine – Sci-Hub.se – PDF
Unhelpful / Harmful