The Right to Choose

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization rocked the nation, overturning Roe v. Wade and ending the federal right to abortion. The phrase “right to choose” has since reverberated across the nation, becoming a rallying cry for many advocating for women’s control over their own bodies and reproductive healthcare decisions.

But the fight for the right to choose didn’t begin with reproductive rights. In fact, it emerged in a very different arena of women’s health: breast cancer treatment.

To Cut is To Cure
In 1971, Babette Rosmond, a 49-year-old author and editor at Seventeen magazine faced her own health crisis when she discovered a small lump in her left breast. At that time, the standard treatment for breast cancer was the radical mastectomy. A surgeon would perform a biopsy under anesthesia and if determined to be cancer, a  radical mastectomy was done. The patient would typically wake up with her breasts, chest muscles and lymph nodes entirely removed, regardless of the size or characteristics of her tumor, or her personal wishes.

When Babette Rosmond was presented with this one-step procedure from her doctor, she refused to give consent, and only gave permission for the biopsy. The doctor was unaccustomed to a woman not following the recommended treatment protocol. After some difficult conversations, the doctor agreed to only do the biopsy.  When the tumor turned out to be cancerous, the doctor told her she needed an urgent radical mastectomy. She asked for 3 weeks to consider her options to which the doctor replied, ‘in 3 weeks, you may be dead’.

Rosmond contacted Dr. George Crile Jr. of the Cleveland Clinic, one of a few pioneering surgeons starting to question the radical mastectomy. Dr. Crile Jr. argued that the drastic surgery made no sense for small, localized cancers. He offered women like Rosmond a different option: a partial mastectomy—an early version of today’s lumpectomy. It was a revolutionary concept that emphasized patient choice and individualized care at a time when “choice” was barely a whisper in the operating room.

Breaking the Silence 
Rosmond’s decision to opt for a partial mastectomy instead of the radical approach was just the beginning of her fight. She didn’t stop there—she went public. In an era when breast cancer was whispered about, if it was discussed at all, she wrote a groundbreaking article for McCall’s magazine titled, “The Right to Choose,” and later published a book, “The Invisible Worm: A Woman’s Right to Choose an Alternate to Radical Surgery.” Her bold advocacy challenged the medical community’s one-size-fits-all approach and gave voice to countless women who felt powerless in their own health decisions.

Babette Rosmond wasn’t the only woman breaking the silence. Just a year later, Shirley Temple Black, the beloved child star turned diplomat, shared her experience with a modified radical mastectomy. She quipped, “The doctor can make the incision, I’ll make the decision,” giving women permission to demand a say in their treatment plans.

Then, in 1974, Betty Ford, the First Lady of the United States, shattered the silence surrounding breast cancer once and for all. Diagnosed with breast cancer and faced with the same radical surgery, she chose to go public almost immediately. Her candidness set off a national conversation, leading to a spike in women getting breast exams and mammograms.

A Legacy of Choice and Change
As we observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the stories of Babette Rosmond, Shirley Temple, and Betty Ford are powerful reminders of the impact of advocacy, education, and choice. Their courage didn’t just change the conversation around breast cancer; it reshaped the entire landscape of women’s health. Because of these trailblazers, women today have more options. The radical mastectomy is no longer the default, and patients have the right to weigh their choices—from lumpectomies and reconstructive surgeries to advanced treatments that weren’t even imagined in the 1970s.

But the fight isn’t over. Despite advances, breast cancer is still one of the top causes of death among women. Each year, too many lives are cut short by this disease—including my beloved sister-in-law, Marilyn, who passed away on October 12 last year from inflammatory breast cancer, a rare and aggressive type of the disease.

This Breast Cancer Awareness Month, let’s honor the courageous survivors and remember those we’ve lost by raising awareness about the importance of screenings, advocating for better treatments and more options, and keeping our focus on what matters most—a cure.

Happy reading,

Enjoy the weekend!

Best,
Suzanne
Suzanne Daniels, Ph.D.
AEPC President
P.O. Box 1416
Birmingham, MI 48012
Office: (248) 792-2187
Email: [email protected]