Nov 28, 2005

Distance From Radiation Therapy Facility Determines Lumpectomy Choice

The farther away you live from a radiation therapy, the less likely you may get lumpectomy as treatment of breast cancer. Lumpectomy is to be followed by radiation therapy and the distance to this facility is often a key issue in making this decision to have lumpectomy or mastectomy. Being old age, being Hispanic origin, or being unmarried at diagnosis also have a bearing on the decision of mastectomy in preference for lumpectomy.

These findings are from a recent study published in the latest issued of CANCER, which is a publication of the American Cancer Society. Those women who opt for lumpectomy should undergo six weeks of daily radiation therapy after lumpectomy and it is understandable why women living far away from the radiation therapy opt to choose mastectomy over lumpectomy.

To determine whether travel distance from home to a radiation facility is an independent factor predicting lumpectomy followed by radiation use, Lydia Voti, DSc of the University of Miami and her colleagues reviewed inpatient and outpatient data for 18,903 breast cancer cases in Florida treated with BCSR or mastectomy.

The researchers found that the distance a woman had to travel to get treatment at a radiation facility independently impacted women's choice of breast cancer treatment. Consistent with other studies, researchers found that socioeconomic factors, such as lack of health insurance, race-ethnicity (particularly Hispanic origin) and being unmarried also negatively impacted on the use of breast conservation surgery.


Emily      Return to Breast Cancer Blog Main

Do You Read All Of Our Cancer Blogs?

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Janet      

Breast cancer
Every year, more than 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. Breast cancer ranks second as the leading cause of cancer deaths in American women. Until recently breast cancer topped the list of leading causes of cancer deaths in women, but lately lung cancer has claimed the top position. If skin cancer is excluded, breast cancer is the commonest cancer among American women.