Category: News

#NationalDoctorsDay 2017

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#NationalDoctorsDay 2017 Social media celebrates all number of fun holidays and today we celebrate #NationalDoctorsDay 2017.  The red carnation has become the symbol of this day to honor doctors. The challenges facing physicians today are worthy of setting aside one day a year to honor their dedication.  I have watched family members go through medical school.  The hours of training are long and arduous.  The personal sacrifice to self and family is admirable. Sub-specialties, like plastic surgery and particularly microsurgery, take even more training, more dedication, and immense skill.  The education is life-long and takes many more hours of study and exams to maintain board certification and learn the latest techniques in their chosen field.  There are long hours spent at hospitals, calls taken late into the evening, and likely some restless hours spent wondering how to solve tomorrow’s challenging medical issue with patients. We trust a physician to heal Continue Reading →

Psychological Benefits of Breast Reconstruction

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Psychological Benefits of Breast Reconstruction There have been many articles written over the years regarding the psychological benefits of breast reconstruction.  When a woman or man loses a body part to breast cancer it seems reasonable to expect one would experience upset and psychological trauma no less than any other amputee.  However, the decision to remedy the amputation of the body part through breast reconstruction is not an easy process.  It means more surgery, recovery, dealing with possible side effects and complications, time off work, support from loved ones, research, and acceptance there will be lifelong scars. One of the driving factors to move forward with my own breast reconstruction after my mastectomy was to remedy the “psychological distress” I was experiencing from the loss of my breasts.  It took a full week after my mastectomy for the psychological anguish to hit home in a figurative and literal sense.  This Continue Reading →

Choosing Reconstructive Surgery after Breast Cancer

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Choosing Reconstructive Surgery after Breast Cancer I am a two-time breast cancer survivor who chose reconstructive surgery using my own tissue after mastectomy, and I am disappointed and feel slighted by the unbalanced reporting with regard to options in breast reconstruction on CBS Sunday Morning on March 12, 2017. One segment reported by Erin Morarity, “Foregoing reconstructive surgery after breast cancer”, was of special interest to me.  Hearing the words, “you have breast cancer” is difficult enough.  When that is followed by a double mastectomy this often puts added mental anguish on the individual, woman, or man.  It did in my case. Like some of the women in the story I lost my hair during my first diagnosis due to chemotherapy.  My skin was compromised from radiation during my first diagnosis.  I lost both of my breast and lived as an amputee for seven months after my second diagnosis.  Then, Continue Reading →

ERAS ~ Enhanced Recovery After Surgery

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ERAS ~ Enhanced Recovery After Surgery I love it when I can say, “I learned something new today” and last week it was about ERAS, Enhanced Recovery After Surgery.  I was having a conversation with the plastic surgeon who performed my DIEP flap breast reconstruction, Dr. Minas Chrysopoulo.  I asked him if there were new protocols or changes in patient care during recovery in the two years since my DIEP flap surgery.  A smile came across his face and I could tell he couldn’t wait to tell me about ERAS.  He eloquently told me about the philosophy and implementation of this protocol and I was captivated.  It must have been the look of complete amazement on my face because he smiled and said, “You should write a blog about it.”  Nothing like a little challenge from a world class micro-surgeon to bequeath a bit of pressure for my next writing Continue Reading →

Burns in Reconstructed Breasts after Mastectomy and Breast Reconstruction

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Burns in Reconstructed Breasts after Mastectomy and Breast Reconstruction An article published in Medscape.com on burns in breasts after mastectomy which also included after breast reconstruction admittedly left me riveted.  Look at this statement from the article: Together with this case series, the literature suggests the most common heat sources responsible for the identified burns included: Heat conduction: using heating pads, hot liquids, and hyperthermia devices. Solar radiation: sunbathing with a dark swimsuit or using a sun lamp. Heat convection: using hair dryers. A close examination of this article and the above-mentioned items leads me to conclude that the most common culprits are household items and sunbathing.  I was given literature regarding post-surgical care from the plastic surgeon who performed my DIEP flap breast reconstruction to clearly avoid heat of any kind to my reconstructed breast, including standing with my back to the shower as well as sunbathing. I personally Continue Reading →

Restored Sensation: Breast Reconstruction

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I am a patient who has restored breast sensation after breast reconstruction.  As a patient advocate who educates and speaks to hundreds of women and men about all options for breast reconstruction I am aware that many who choose breast reconstruction experience numbness and a variety of new sensations in their reconstructed breasts. I am referencing a recent article in the New York Times, After Mastectomies, An Unexpected Blow: Numb New Breasts. I respect but don’t fully understand the statements from patients experiencing numbness regarding their experience with their own reconstructed breasts.  Specifically, these: The statement under the photo taken from the article Re “Mastectomy, Then Shock: Lost Feeling” (front page, Jan. 30): Dane’e McCree with her daughters, Marleigh, left, and Brooklyn, in Grand Junction, Colo. “I can’t even feel it when my kids hug me,” Ms. McCree said after a breast reconstruction surgery. Credit Barton Glasser for The New Continue Reading →

Holiday Wishes on the Journey

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This is the time of year to send holiday wishes on the Journey.  If I could wrap up in boxes all the stories shared, both happy and sad, those who have been on this Journey through breast reconstruction, I don’t think there would be a space large enough to place those wrapped boxes.  We have shared struggles, triumphs, waiting for results, preparation, anticipation of surgery, celebrating completion of the reconstructive process; the list goes on. Who are we here on the Journey? We are a global community that stretches beyond cultural borders and continents.  We are women and men who have heard those dreaded words, “You have breast cancer” or “You are BRCA positive”.  Through your research, a friend, or physician you found the Journey.  You told us your personal story.  Some are still in treatment waiting to go through the reconstructive process.  Others have completed phase one and are Continue Reading →

#SABCS 2017 through a Patient Advocate’s Lens

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#SABCS 2017 through a Patient Advocate’s Lens #SABCS 2017 through a patient advocate’s lens is about my experience at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (#SABCS) 2017.  Two descriptive words that sum it up quickly from my personal standpoint are, exhilarating and exhausting.  I am an advocate for breast reconstruction options after mastectomy.  That is my wheelhouse so I carefully contemplated the benefits of attending.  But, there is no breast reconstruction without breast cancer.  I found it to be a profound conference on many levels both intellectually and emotionally and well worth the experience. A Robust Patient Advocacy Program My decision to attend was solidified after learning about the robust patient advocacy program that SABCS has.  Each evening, after the general sessions, patient advocates would gather to listen to selected “hot topics” of the day.  We could listen, interact, and ask questions. There were notable speakers and leaders in the Continue Reading →

Recap #PSTM16

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Recap #PSTM16 Plastic Surgery the Meeting may seem like a distant memory but a recap of #PSTM16 from a patient advocate standpoint summarizes the value of my first experience as an attendee.  It was a fast and furious weekend for me at the Los Angeles Convention Center since I was only able to attend Friday through Monday.  I scheduled classes to attend, met with plastic surgeons, and walked the vendor floor learning about products specific to breast reconstruction. The Educational Programs The first class I attended was one that focused on Cultural Competence in plastic surgery.  I wanted to step outside the box of breast reconstruction a bit and understand the broader world of plastic surgery.  It was a valuable instructional course.  The discussion given by a variety of plastic surgeons at this session focused on recognizing and embracing cultural diversity in the workplace among plastic surgery co-workers as well Continue Reading →

Fairness in Reporting, Breast Reconstruction

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Fairness in Reporting, Breast Reconstruction An on-line article was published on October 31, 2016, in The New York Times entitled, ‘Going Flat’ After Breast Cancer.  This is my commentary on that article after having survived breast cancer twice and choosing to reconstruct my breasts with my own tissue.  I want you to focus on the words “reconstruct my breasts”.  They are my breasts.  Every part of my breasts are me, my own tissue, my own blood source, my own skin, my own nipples.  My own breasts contained cancer cells and have been removed through the skillful hands of a breast surgeon and rebuilt by the skillful hands of a microsurgeon. The breasts I had before breast cancer were mine.  The breasts  I now have after breast cancer are mine.  Once my breasts had cancer.  Now, my breasts do not have cancer.  Therefore, I respectfully disagree with the last part of Continue Reading →