Category: Breast Reconstruction

What is Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day?

Posted on by

Each year in October, a day is set aside to provide education to women and men about what options are available for breast reconstruction. Medical practices, plastic surgeons, and organization across the country host various events inviting those who need resources and information about breast reconstruction. Attendees to BRA Day events include those affected by breast cancer. Let’s take a closer look at topics covered and answer the question of what Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day is and the information it provides. Options for Breast Reconstruction Autologous breast reconstruction: Using the patient’s own tissue to reconstruction the breast. Implant-based reconstruction: Using an implant filled with silicon or gel to recreate the breast. Autologous tissue and implant combined I had autologous, DIEP flap breast reconstruction. The lower tummy tissue is disconnected along with the underlying blood vessels (deep inferior epigastric perforators). It is then reconnected to the breast area to create soft Continue Reading →

Patient Advocacy at Plastic Surgery the Meeting

Posted on by

Preparations begin for the fourth year in a row for me to attend PSTM, Plastic Surgery the Meeting in San Diego. This is the annual national conference of plastic surgeons both nationally and internationally to present the latest in plastic surgery techniques. It includes all aspects of plastic surgery, including aesthetic and reconstructive practices. My patient advocacy at Plastic Surgery the Meeting will focus on breast reconstruction. The Value of Social Media and Patient Advocacy at Plastic Surgery the Meeting The first year I attended I was the tenderfoot, the novice, wandering the expansive convention center in downtown Los Angeles not even knowing the layout, what sessions I could attend, or the flow of the conference. I opened my nonprofit, DIEPCFoundation.org the month before I attended my first PSTM in September of 2016. Many attendees did not know who I was. However, they recognized me because of my presence on Continue Reading →

Trust in your Breast Reconstruction Surgeon

Posted on by

How do you know when you have complete trust in your breast reconstruction surgeon? I can share my experience, but I am not you. My breast cancer experience was unique to my circumstances. It was my second occurrence of breast cancer. I had a double mastectomy and for seven long months lived without my breasts. Then I had what is known as delayed DIEP flap breast reconstruction. I honestly felt like a mangled mess the day I first saw my plastic reconstructive surgeon for my initial consult. I had skin sparing, nipple sparing mastectomy. Looking down at the folds of skin laying on my now breast-less chest wall always made me towel off quickly after each shower to put something over the area left marred by breast cancer. Each side of my chest looked different since I had radiation twelve years previous on my left side only. Scarring, tightness, and Continue Reading →

Breast Reconstruction From the Clinic to the Canvas

Posted on by

It is a remarkable patient experience from the clinical consult for breast reconstruction to the day the plastic surgeon begins the process of rebuilding a patient’s breasts. Whether you have breast cancer or are having a prophylactic mastectomy to reduce your risk of getting breast cancer, breast reconstruction begins the day of your initial clinic visit. It culminates the day of surgery, on the canvas, the skin and tissue your plastic surgeon has to work with. The Journey from the Clinic to the Canvas A plastic surgeon begins to look at all aspects of the canvas. They work with different coloration from pale white to the deepest hues of browns and everything in between. Is the canvas rough, smooth, or does it have its own unique characteristics; previous scars, moles, stretch marks? What is the suppleness of the skin, the canvas? The surgeon might be working with young, taut skin, Continue Reading →

Participating in a Breast Reconstruction Tweet Chat

Posted on by

I invite you to join me and Dr. Minas Chrysopoulo of PRMA in San Antonio for a BCSM (breast cancer social media) tweet chat. It will be held on Monday evening, July 29th for an hour beginning at 9 pm Eastern / 8 pm Central / 6 pm Pacific on Twitter. Let’s go over the who, what, when, where, why, and how of participating in a breast reconstruction tweet chat. Who Can Participate in the Tweet Chat? Those who have a Twitter account can participate. Co-moderators of the #BCSM tweet chats, Dr. Deanna Attai, @DrAttai, and Alicia Staley, @stales, will guide the conversation the evening of July 29. They have graciously invited Dr. C and me as guests that evening.  My Twitter handle is @6state and Dr. Minas Chrysopoulo’s Twitter handle is @drchrysopoulo. What is a Breast Reconstruction Tweet Chat? The BCSM community picks a topic to focus on each Continue Reading →

Finding Trusted Breast Reconstruction Resources

Posted on by

You are newly diagnosed with breast cancer, going through treatment, or just found out you carry a gene mutation and are at high risk of developing breast cancer. It seems important to begin  to explore all your options for breast reconstruction. Your mission, finding trusted breast reconstruction resources.   The thought of any surgery is scary to you. You have the information your health care team gave you. Now you want to talk with someone who really gets it but more importantly someone you can trust. Family and friends are there to support you but can sometimes feel smothering. They try their best to help and console you. Sometimes you need time away, to think, to formulate questions, to find firsthand experience about the choices you know you are facing. Can You Find Trusted Breast Reconstruction Resources in Facebook Groups? We live in the age of social media, so you Continue Reading →

Breast Surgery Recovery Shirt I Wish I’d Had

Posted on by

Here it is, the breast surgery recovery shirt I wish I’d had and you can order it right here: from the Healinincomfort site. Healincomfort will pay shipping. Now that’s a deal! One part of my job as a patient advocate and Founder and Director of DiepCFoundation.org is finding products making healing and recovery from breast cancer easier for patients. I have been through six different surgeries for breast cancer and breast reconstruction. My double mastectomy and DIEP flap breast reconstruction both required surgical drains. They were not my favorite part of recovery but necessary to drain out accumulated surgical fluid. The amount of time a patient has surgical drains can be a couple of weeks and sometimes a little over a month. It really depends on the individual healing mechanisms of each patient. This is why I am happy to write about the Healincomfort breast surgery recovery shirt I wish Continue Reading →

Why Should I Ask About Physical Therapy After Breast Surgery?

Posted on by

I feel extremely fortunate my breast surgeon and plastic surgeon both recommended physical therapy for me after the breast surgeries they performed on me. My breast surgeon, Dr. Michele Ley, prescribed it for me about six weeks after she completed a double mastectomy due to my second occurrence of breast cancer. Dr. Chrysopoulo, my plastic surgeon, prescribed it for me after my DIEP flap breast reconstruction. I hear from many women who have not had the same physical therapy opportunity I did. So, I encourage them to ask their surgeons, “Why Should I Ask About Physical Therapy After Breast Surgery?” Physical Therapy after Mastectomy Surgery I began experiencing shoulder pain about three to four weeks after my double mastectomy. I went in for a follow up appointment to my breast surgeon around the same time. The shoulder pain occurred mainly when I was on my computer. This was during a Continue Reading →

Father’s Day: The Empty Rocking Chair

Posted on by

My family and I sat on a shaded screened porch for many family occasions, both small and large. A sign, hand painted by Dad, hangs on the patio and reads, “Sit Long, Talk Much, Laugh Often”. On the porch are several comfortable outdoor wicker chairs. One chair, the wicker rocking chair, is where Dad always sat. He held his great grandchildren while he sat in the rocker. Sipping coffee and talking about the morning news was another favorite activity in his chair for Dad when I would go home for visits. In the evening, he sat with his Jack Daniels sipping it slowly imparting the wisdom of a man who lived just a few days short of 89 years. This year on Father’s Day, there is an empty rocking chair. I feel a sense of loneliness. My Dad died of cancer last year. The last time I sat on the Continue Reading →

Healing After Breast Reconstruction is a Journey

Posted on by

Women and men can choose three different types of breast reconstruction. There is implant-based reconstruction. Another type is when a patient can choose to use a variety of skin flaps to rebuild their breasts. This is called autologous, using your own tissue, breast reconstruction. A combination of both autologous and implant-based reconstruction is sometimes chosen and performed after a mastectomy. Any of these type of breast reconstruction options requires time to heal, both emotionally and physically. Healing after breast reconstruction is a Journey. The Unknowns You don’t know what you don’t know. A patient can sit in an initial consult with their plastic surgeon with all their questions in hand. The hope is the consult is done in a shared decision-making fashion where both parties, the patient and plastic surgeon, listen carefully and with intent to each point of discussion then come to the best decision for the patient’s health Continue Reading →