Women often opt to surgically remove their breasts, ovaries to reduce cancer risk Aug 6, 2009
Forty percent of the women who were mutation carriers underwent bilateral risk-reducing mastectomy; 45 percent had bilateral risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (surgical removal of ovaries) ... Evaluated by gene type, bilateral risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy was more common in women who were BRCA1 gene carriers 52 percent had the surgery compared with 28 percent of the women who were BRCA2 gene carriers. (EurekAlert!)
What should I consider before having uterus, ovaries removed? Apr 9, 2009
Hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (removal of both ovaries and tubes) leads to surgically induced menopause. With menopause, the major concerns or complaints are the symptoms we often hear about, especially hot flashes, night sweats, osteoporosis and vaginal dryness. (CNN -- Health)
Ovary Removal Lowers Odds of Cancer in High-Risk Women Feb 7, 2009
Rebbeck said that "the earlier studies in this area were suggesting something like a 95 percent risk reduction, a near complete reduction [in ovarian cancer risk] that was very encouraging." But his team found somewhat less of a risk reduction with the procedure that involves removing the ovaries and fallopian tubes, called a prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy. They found a 79 percent reduced risk of ovarian cancer and a 51 percent reduced risk of breast cancer. (MEDLINEplus)
Two Endometrial Cancer Treatments May Not Work Feb 7, 2009
One study looked at removal of pelvic lymph nodes (pelvic lymphadenectomy), in addition to the standard treatments of hysterectomy and removal of both ovaries and both fallopian tubes (bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy -- BSO). Removal of pelvic lymph nodes is used to determine whether or not the cancer is present outside the uterus and as a therapeutic procedure. (MEDLINEplus)
