"We want to ensure a woman's decision is high quality, which means it's based on accurate knowledge about treatment risks and benefits and is consistent with the underlying values of the patient," Hawley says.

The researchers plan to develop a decision tool to help women and their families understand the surgical decision, and future studies will look at the issues important to patients and their spouses around decision making.

Methodology: Researchers analyzed survey responses from 1,651 women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer in the Detroit and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. Patients were selected from each city's Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database, which collects information about cancer incidence, treatment and mortality.

Patients were asked about their surgical treatment decision, including how involved they were in the decision making, whether a family member or friend accompanied them to the appointment and their attitudes toward surgery. Higher numbers of African Americans and Latinas were included.

Breast cancer statistics: 194,280 Americans will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year and 40,610 will die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.

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