1 in 4 mastectomies need follow-ups

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - A West Michigan doctor's study on a popular breast cancer treatment is being published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study found that one in four women who undergo a partial mastectomy for breast cancer later need follow-up surgeries.

Those additional surgeries can by physically, emotionally and financially taxing and can delay other treatment options.

The study also showed rates of additional surgeries varied widely by both the surgeon and the institution where they're performed, with nothing to do with a patient's particular medical condition.

Doctor Larry McCahill of Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine is the doctor behind that study. He's a surgical oncologist with Saint Mary's Health Care.

McCahill said a partial mastectomy is one of the most common cancer operations in the U.S.