National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Be in the know For women treated for breast cancer, the odds of being alive after five years are roughly the same whether they undergo mastectomy or breast—conserving surgery.And while that's old news,a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center indicates that only 49 percent of treated women were in the know.Worse,only 34 percent of African Americans and 37 percent of Latinas were aware of the survival odds. "It's important for women to be able to do what we call a high-quality decision-making process," says Sarah Hawley, Ph.D., who authored the study."That would mean that the decision needs to be well-informed,based on an accurate knowledge of the risks and benefits of the options,and it also needs to be based on their preferences. If women do not make an informed decision, they're more likely to be dissatisfied down the road with the treatment they received." Researchers surveyed 1,132 women recently diagnosed with breast cancer in the Detroit and Los Angeles metropolitan areas, asking them whether the chances of being alive five years after surgery were the same after a mastectomy or after lumpectomy with radiation,as well as whether the chance of breast cancer returning after treatment was the same for the two treatments.Neither the type of treatment facility the women visited nor the type of surgeon women saw affected the responses,but researchers did find that patients whose surgeons described both treatment options had more adequate knowledge. — Jessica Abels CTW Features