THURSDAY, Sept. 3 (HealthCare Tips) Family and friends don't just serve as emotional support for breast cancer patients, they also help patients decide which kind of operation to have, a new study has found.

About three-quarters of patients surveyed brought a family member or friend to their first appointment with a surgeon, and the accompanying person exerted influence on the patient, the University of Michigan researchers noted.

In particular, women who had a friend or family member accompany them to the first appointment were more likely to obtain a mastectomy, compared with women who went alone. Women were also more likely to choose mastectomy if they themselves played a major role in driving the decision instead of the doctor, according to the study published in the Aug. 31 online edition of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The study examines factors influence a woman's choice between a mastectomy to remove the entire breast or breast-conserving operation, which involves removing only the tumor and is followed by radiation treatments.

The researchers also found that Latina woman with little English-language skills were most likely to be influenced by their family members.

The findings come from a review of 1,651 women diagnose with early stage breast cancer in the Detroit and Los Angeles regions.

"Family and friends have a potentially important role in treatment consideration. More than 70 percent of women brought someone with them to the meeting, providing a chance for surgeons to suggest information to both the patient and her support person," lead study author Sarah Hawley, research relate professor of internal medicine at University of Michigan Medical School, said in a university news release. "Clearly, others help with and add to decision making, and may do so differently for different racial or ethnic groups.