Science / Medicine : Timing of Surgery Found Vital

Women suffering from breast cancer live longer if surgery is performed in the second half of the menstrual cycle, British researchers reported last week in The Lancet. “Changing the time of surgery, if our results are true, would save 600 lives a year in Britain and 2,400 lives a year in the United States,” said Dr. Ian Fentiman, deputy director of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund’s Breast Unit at Guy’s Hospital in London.

Fentiman’s study reviewed 249 breast cancer operations at Guy’s Hospital from 1975 to 1985. It found that women who had surgery either in the first two days of the menstrual cycle or from days 13 to the end of the monthlong cycle had an 84% chance of surviving 10 years.

By contrast, women operated on from days 3 to 12 had only a 54% chance of surviving 10 years.