Preventative surgery saves lives
In one of the largest studies of its kind, 2500 women from the U.S., UK, Austria, and, the Netherlands participated in a 4 year study on the impacts of preventative cancer surgery. This kind of surgery removes the breast and/or ovaries of women with a BRCA genetic mutation that places them in a high-risk cancer group.
In the general population 12 women in 100 will develop breast or ovarian cancer. Women who have the BRCA gene mutation have a much higher incidence, 60 in 100.
During the course of the study, some women opted for breast removal, some for ovary removal, some for both, and some women chose neither. The most significant results were with women who chose to have their ovaries removed. For all markers, this group developed less breast and ovarian cancer, and also suffered the least deaths from cancer.