Women More Likely to Undergo Surgery After Being Diagnosed with Cancer

Most women who are told they have any type of breast cancer, prefer to undergo surgery to have them removed, a new study said Monday.

The findings, reported in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, offer a new way to gauge the power of the word "cancer."

"The word 'cancer' often invokes the specter of an inexorably lethal process; however, cancers are heterogeneous and can follow multiple paths, not all of which progress to metastases and death, and include indolent disease that causes no harm during the patient's lifetime."

The study found that when women heard the word 'cancer' as a part of their diagnoses, 47 percent said they would want a lumpectomy or mastectomy.  Comparatively, when the women were told they had a 'lesion,' 34 percent opted for surgery, and when they were diagnosed with 'abnormal cells,' 31 percent chose surgery.

Researchers believed that the word 'cancer' frightened women into picking the surgical option, even when they normally would prefer less invasive treatments.

This report comes on the heels of a panel discussion at the National Cancer Institute which urged medical professionals to redefine the word 'cancer,' saying, "The word 'cancer' often invokes the specter of an inexorably lethal process; however, cancers are heterogeneous and can follow multiple paths, not all of which progress to metastases and death, and include indolent disease that causes no harm during the patient's lifetime."