A protocol for preventative mastectomy in women with an increased lifetime risk of breast cancer.

This paper describes a protocol for women at high risk of breast cancer wishing to undergo preventative mastectomy. The protocol described is a holistic approach to each woman involving the use of a multidisciplinary team. The protocol takes a number of months from initiation to surgery. A time delay is deliberate to allow women to fully address the issues involved with a decision for surgery. Early evidence suggests that this prepares the women emotionally and physically for their surgery. Copyright 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.