Category: News

A Paradigm Shift: Looking at the World Through a New Lens

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2020. A year like no other. I have been on the planet Earth for six decades. I have spoken to those who lived through World Wars, polio, and the Great Depression. My own children lived through the shock and trauma of 911. Nothing, nothing, has compared to what we have experienced in the six months of the year 2020. There has been a rare paradigm shift and now we are looking at the world through a different lens. A Shift in our Daily Emotions We have experienced a global pandemic, political unrest, loss of jobs, loss of lives, racial injustice, and social isolation. There seems to be so much blame. With all that has happened I have witnessed quick judgement. People are judged if they say too much or remain silent. Emotions are shattered. People may express gratitude one moment and by the end of the day after watching the Continue Reading →

Please Do not Tell Me Not to Worry

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You arrive for your yearly mammogram, CT scan, ultrasound, or blood work. It could be any number of medical tests to determine if you have breast cancer, your breast cancer has metastasized, you are called back to have further testing, the list goes on. The appointment can elicit worry days before when you view it on your calendar knowing it is coming up. Then you wait for results. Or you wait a few more days for a recall on a mammogram when they “find something suspicious” that was not there a year ago. What do you say to someone who shares this news with you? Did you tell them not to worry? They are probably thinking, “please don’t tell me not to worry”. Mammograms can Cause Worry There are those who are having their first mammogram ever. Whether you are 24, 40 or 84 is really does not matter. The Continue Reading →

Learning Together During the Coronavirus

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I am an educator by profession. Although I switched from classroom teaching to becoming a patient advocate after a second breast cancer diagnosis and successful DIEP flap breast reconstruction, I am always energized when I can learn something new. Living through the global pandemic of 2020 has been one adjustment after the other for everyone across the world. It has been downright frustrating for me some days. This week, I felt uplifted. Some new tools and ideas opened up for me. I am grateful a world pandemic can also result in learning together during the coronavirus. Using Instagram LIVE During the Coronavirus Instagram has been a busy platform during the past few weeks. Those little circles at the top of your Instagram feed have been highlighted in red more than I have ever noticed. Notifications of IG LIVE have been frequently lighting up my phone. What is up? I turned Continue Reading →

Nerve Graft: Restoring Sensation to the Breast

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Sensation to the breast is important to most women. Nerves in the breast provide this sensation. This feeling provides protection from heat and cold temperatures. The breast is an erogenous zone for several women providing sexual sensation, especially in the nipple and areola area. Nerves are cut at the time of mastectomy when cancerous tissue is removed leaving numbness to the chest. During breast reconstruction, some surgeons perform a procedure using a nerve graft restoring sensation to the breast. Location of the Nerves Restoring Sensation to the Breast The breast is comprised of an intricate web of nerves running through the breast tissue. Surgeons tend to speak about the two sides of the breast looking at it from the front. Draw an imaginary line from the arm pit area running down the side. This is the area of the chest referred to as the lateral area. The area at the Continue Reading →

The Aesthetics of the Donor Site: DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction

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At the 2019 annual conference of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, I interviewed Dr. Minas Chrysopoulo of PRMA in San Antonio.  Dr. C points out we often talk about the results of the breast in breast reconstruction. After all, it is why the patient is having the procedure, to replace the breasts affected by breast cancer. I agree with his statement, “The conversation about the belly is well overdue.” This blog will focus on the aesthetics of the donor site in DIEP flap breast reconstruction. As microsurgeons, skill and technique are often discussed in published papers and at medical conferences. Plastic surgery, of any kind, is about form and function. The donor site for DIEP flap, the belly, is as important to the patient. What it is going to feel and look like after surgery is essential to the physical and psychological healing for the patient. Dr. Chrysopoulo says, Continue Reading →

The Woman Behind the Mask: Coronavirus

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This is the third week I am writing my weekly blog on the topic of the coronavirus. The rapidly evolving events of this global pandemic have caused staggering changes in statistics. We seem to grapple daily with how to deal with the spread of the virus. Wearing a face mask was the most visible symbol coming out of Wuhan, China where the coronavirus began in late December. At the beginning of March here in America, the consensus was not to wear a mask in public. Now in the first days of April, a month later, we are seeing a flood of masks being worn in America. A movement has begun to make homemade masks. This blog is dedicated to a friend, the woman behind the mask, and why she began making them during the coronavirus. Why We Transitioned from No Mask to Wearing Masks During the Coronovirus The growth of Continue Reading →

A Community of Strength Through the Coronavirus Outbreak

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I continue to keep up with the evolving changes as each day passes and numbers, plans, surgeries, and lives change due to the coronavirus outbreak. I think it’s fair to say we are called on to change in ways none of us are prepared for. Here is what happened in the past week and what I am grateful for, sad about, and what I have witnessed firsthand in the breast reconstruction community, a community of strength through the coronavirus outbreak. Breast Reconstruction Surgeries Cancelled During the Coronavirus I spent a great deal of time planning for my DIEP flap surgery in the fall of 2014. I traveled for my breast reconstruction. I had to arrange flights for myself and my husband. Asking friends and family to take off work or come to help was a tough one for me. Then there was the anticipation. Oh, the anticipation! All of that Continue Reading →

DiepCJourney Celebrating Five Years in Unprecedented Times

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Five years ago, on March 17, 2015, I published my first blog for DiepCJourney.com. I felt excited and anxious. Today, on March 17, 2020, those feelings, excitement and being anxious manifest themselves in a completely different way. We are at the tip of the iceberg in the United States as we grapple with how to deal with a global pandemic, the worldwide Coronavirus outbreak. This blog will be marked as a time capsule. I had no idea DiepCJourney would be celebrating five years in unprecedented times. I had an idea what I might write in this blog as 2020 rolled around knowing it was the fifth anniversary year. But now things have changed. I want to share my concerns and gratitude to all of the amazing readers over the past five years. My Concerns for Readers of DiepCJourney at this Unprecedented Time The blog continues to grow and evolve. What Continue Reading →

Breast Advocate App: An Interview with Founder Minas Chrysopoulo, MD

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We are fortunate to live in a time when apps on mobile devices become tools to help us with our treatment options for a number of health-related issues. The focus of my blog and mission of my nonprofit Foundation is to empower women and men with information to make an informed decision about options for breast reconstruction after mastectomy. I have the distinct pleasure to present the reader with a decision tool, the Breast Advocate App and an interview with Founder, Minas Chrysopoulo, MD, FACS. I began my work as a patient advocate in early 2015 shortly after having my successful DIEP flap breast reconstruction. At the time of my second diagnosis in April of 2014, I was given all my options for breast reconstruction by my breast surgeon. I am grateful to her. I was handed a packet of brochures from implant manufacturers, local support groups, photos and explanation Continue Reading →

Are All DIEP Flaps the Same?

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It is a fair question to ask don’t you think?  It is even a better question to discuss at your initial consult when you want to use your tummy tissue to reconstruct your breasts. If you have been affected by breast cancer and are facing a mastectomy, I think you should ask your plastic surgeon, “Are all DIEP flaps the same? The video embedded in the blog will give you talking points for a discussion with your plastic surgeon. I was fortunate to interview Drs. Pankaj Tiwari and Ergun Kocak of Midwest Breast in Ohio to help the reader understand the nuances and differences in tummy flap breast reconstruction. What are the Differences in Flap Procedures using the Tummy? These surgeons point out the scar on the outside looks similar to a tummy tuck scar. But what happens on the inside as Dr. Kocak says, “it’s entirely different”. Let’s take Continue Reading →