On the Ethical Issues of Bilateral and Contralateral Risk-Reducing Mastectomy
On the Ethical Issues of Bilateral and Contralateral Risk-Reducing Mastectomy

Author(s): Gergely Róbert Tari, Gábor Braunitzer
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Essay|Book Review |Scientific Life
Published by: Trivent Publishing
Keywords: risk-reducing mastectomy; prophylactic mastectomy; clinical medical ethics; shared decision making; patient autonomy;informed consent;
Summary/Abstract: The principles of beneficence and patient autonomy can clash in various ways; this is the case of bilateral risk-reducing (BRRM) and contralateral risk-reducing mastectomy (CRRM). Mastectomy, however, is rarely treated as an ethical issue. The literature of BRRM and CRRM is dominated by the topic of risk-assessment. In this chapter, we are going to analyze BRRM and CRRM from a moral point of view. We are going to argue that patients’ autonomy and women’s self-determination over their own bodies can be considered as an indication of risk-reducing mastectomies.

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