Dr. Yao Discusses Sources of Information on Decisions Regarding Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy

Katharine Yao, MD, director, breast surgical program, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, Illinois, clinical associate professor, surgery, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, discusses a prospective study that analyzed the sources of information regarding decisions on contralateral prophylactic mastectomy.

Yao says the study found that patients primarily use the internet to gather information about whether or not they should undergo a contralateral prophylactic mastectomy. Patients also looked at newspapers, magazines, radio, and television, and consulted with friends and family members, the study found.

However, patients ranked physician advice as the most important source of information, Yao says.