Maria Glymour: I'm against medical research cuts. We need those answers for our health

When I was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer, I learned how urgently we need more research.

My physicians initially recommended a mastectomy. I read published research and found that we knew almost nothing about what happens to a woman with my specific type of cancer if she doesn’t get a mastectomy.

Some physicians thought mastectomy might not be necessary, but there wasn’t enough research to know. Working closely with a fantastic breast surgeon, I decided to manage my cancer via medications — plus extra-frequent mammograms. If the cancer started to invade other tissues, then I would have a mastectomy, but not before.

That choice felt like jumping out of an airplane with a parachute that might not work: I had to make a decision without enough evidence. I do not want any other wom