If a person is considering having a major form of elective surgery (such as a preventative oophorectomy because ovarian cancer runs in their family or breast reconstruction after having a breast cancer-related mastectomy), they should avail of their health clinic's counselling service before they having their operation. Here are some of the reasons why they should do this.

To ensure that they are not being coerced or manipulated into making a particular choice

Using the clinic's counselling service before they decide if they should book their operation could enable a person to clarify whether or not someone close to them is influencing their decision to have (or not have) this procedure, by means of manipulation or coercion. For example, a woman's partner might be coercing her into having a post-mastectomy breast reconstruction, even though she is concerned that the new implants may make it harder to detect cancerous cells if the disease returns. Similarly, a woman's parent might be discouraging her from having a preventative oophorectomy because they want grandchildren and the operation might affect the woman's fertility.

People do not always realise (or want to admit) that a person that is supposed to love and care about them could do this to them. Having counselling sessions, where they discuss their reasons for wanting or being hesitant to have the surgery could allow the counsellor to notice that their decision is being influenced by someone else. The counsellor could then point this out, explain why this manipulation or coercion is problematic and tell the patient how to set some boundaries with their relative or partner. Following this, they could then help them to work out whether they truly want to have this procedure.

To ensure that they have really thought about the consequences of having (or not having) the operation

The other reason why a person in this situation should use their clinic's counselling service is that it could give them a chance to analyse the consequences of having or not having this operation in a more robust manner than they may have done when they first looked into booking it.

The counsellor may be able to offer resources, via the clinic, that could help the person to learn more about what recovery from this major operation is really like and how it may affect other aspects of their life (for example, if they have an oophorectomy, they may experience early menopause and all of the physical and mental side-effects that it causes may affect their sleep patterns, their relationships and their self-esteem). This will ensure that if they go ahead with it, they'll do so with a full understanding of what challenges are in store for them.