PSYCHOLOGY – After a mastectomy, a significant number of women prefer to refrain from reconstructive surgery aimed at recreating their breasts.
Angélique, 31, admits with a laugh that she “hard headed”. Once she made the decision not to have breast reconstruction after breast cancer at the age of 25, no one could have changed her mind. Her choice is not isolated: in France, among women who have undergone the removal of one or two breasts (total mastectomy), only 3 out of 10 would undertake reconstruction after the operation, estimates the Haute Health Authority (HAS).
“Among the choices following a mastectomy, flat reconstruction is completely one of the options, declares Dr Sylvie Dolbeault, psychiatrist at the Institut Curie. This concerns both women who have been treated for breast cancer and those without the disease but at genetic risk. For a long time, the idea prevailed that one should strive to rebuild breast volume, particularly when the woman was young. We must distance ourselves from this paternalistic discourse which still permeates the discourse of some…
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