Christina Applegate's Mastectomy: FAQ
Aug. 20, 2008 -- Actress Christina Applegate recently had both breasts removed in an effort to prevent her breast cancer from returning and said that she will get breast reconstruction.
Applegate, 36, star of the ABC comedy Samantha Who?, announced her breast cancer diagnosis earlier this month. Yesterday, she told ABC's Good Morning America that she is now "absolutely, 100% clean and clear" of cancer.
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Before getting her preventive (prophylactic) double mastectomy three and half weeks ago, Applegate had two lumpectomies -- and only had cancer in one breast, according to Good Morning America -- and took a gene test that showed that she had the BRCA1 gene mutation, which makes breast cancer and ovarian cancer more likely.
Applegate called her mastectomy decision "tough" but the "most logical" possibility for her. She said she based her choice on her family history -- her mother has had breast cancer and cervical cancer -- and her BRCA1 gene.
Is Applegate's approach to breast cancer one that would work for other breast cancer patients? And what will the reconstruction process -- for Applegate and for other women -- be like?
WebMD talked with four doctors -- and with a breast cancer survivor who made some of the same choices that Applegate did -- about preventive mastectomy and breast reconstructive surgery. None of the doctors who talked to WebMD are treating Applegate.
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Applegate, 36, star of the ABC comedy Samantha Who?, announced her breast cancer diagnosis earlier this month. Yesterday, she told ABC's Good Morning America that she is now "absolutely, 100% clean and clear" of cancer.
Cancer Videos
Video: Cancer andExercise
Video: MakingChemotherapy Safer
Video: Foods AfterCancer
All Cancer-RelatedVideos
Related Slideshows
Related to
lymphoma, leukemia, chemotherapy, radiation, mammogram, PSA test , colonoscopy, herceptin, tamoxifen, breast cancer -- Colposcopy, lung cancer, skin cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer
© 2008 WebMD, LLC. All rightsreserved.
Before getting her preventive (prophylactic) double mastectomy three and half weeks ago, Applegate had two lumpectomies -- and only had cancer in one breast, according to Good Morning America -- and took a gene test that showed that she had the BRCA1 gene mutation, which makes breast cancer and ovarian cancer more likely.
Applegate called her mastectomy decision "tough" but the "most logical" possibility for her. She said she based her choice on her family history -- her mother has had breast cancer and cervical cancer -- and her BRCA1 gene.
Is Applegate's approach to breast cancer one that would work for other breast cancer patients? And what will the reconstruction process -- for Applegate and for other women -- be like?
WebMD talked with four doctors -- and with a breast cancer survivor who made some of the same choices that Applegate did -- about preventive mastectomy and breast reconstructive surgery. None of the doctors who talked to WebMD are treating Applegate.
What Is Your Cancer Risk? Take the WebMD Cancer Health Check