Women Fake Family History of Cancer, Says Specialist Adfoiadfoai
Posted on: Friday, 22 April 2005, 12:00 CDT
Women are faking family histories of breast cancer in order to get treatment, in what specialists say is a version of Munchausen's syndrome.
Professor Gareth Evans, a consultant in medical genetics at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester, said at least 1 per cent of 'high risk' breast cancer cases are discovered to be false, based on research by clinicians in Britain and Canada.
In the UK, that amounted to 30 cases a year in the 19 breast cancer genetic units around the country. Some patients had had preventive surgery to remove their breasts, only for doctors to find out later that the women faced no extra risk of developing the disease.
Professor Evans warned clinics yesterday to be on their guard in order to protect women from unnecessary treatment. 'The women should go through a process of risk assessment with a geneticist, and also have a psychological assessment. With all of those in place women should no longer be getting surgery in that situation,' he said.
Women who falsely presented with a family history of the disease received quicker treatment and took resources from genuine patients, he said. In one case a woman had a double preventive mastectomy after claiming that three of her four sisters had been diagnosed with breast cancer " a claim that turned out to have been false.
A spokesman said the number of cases had grown and Professor Evans said he had seen 15 similar cases over the past decade. 'These are just the ones that were detected,' he said.
The situation was difficult for doctors because they required the patient's consent before they could investigate other cases of breast cancer in the family. If the patient claimed family members had died of breast cancer, doctors hit a 'clinical brick wall'.
In some cases the false information was passed on to unsuspecting relatives who sought treatment because of their fictitious family history.
Munchausen's syndrome is a disorder in which people repeatedly seek unnecessary treatment. Some have been admitted hundreds of times to hospitals all over the country and their bodies are littered with scars from unnecessary exploratory operations.
Professor Evans said the study's findings did not detract from the need for women with concerns about breast cancer to seek help from GPs and specialist clinics. 'It's important that we do all we can, both to detect genuine cases and to prevent future incidence of breast cancer,' he said.
Sarah Rawlings, policy manager of the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said: 'Women with a family history should not be afraid to discuss their issues with a GP and get the support and advice they need. It is also important that relatives talk to each other about their health so they are aware of any diseases that run in the family.'
Source: Independent, The; London (UK)
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