Published 10 March 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b776
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b776

Analysis

Commentary: The lay view

Tessa Boase

1 London

tessa.boase@tiscali.co.uk

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

If my life had been made unbearable by outsize breasts, and I was finally to undergo the operation leading to their reduction, I think I would be feeling a mixture of anxiety and euphoria as I waited for the anaesthetic. At last, I’d be thinking, life was about to improve immeasurably. No more back ache, chafing, embarrassment, unflattering clothes. Furthest from my mind would be the thought that the surgeons might find cancerous tissue in my breast.

Imagine coming round from the operation: yes, the weight has literally been lifted from your chest. The operation has worked. But there is something else: the surgeon wishes to have a little chat with you. In private. Still tender from surgery, you’re told that cancerous cells were found in your breast tissue after routine screening. Would you like to opt for radiotherapy, or perhaps a complete mastectomy?

I exaggerate the brutality of this . . . [Full text of this article]


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