Category: Tests and Scans

Episode 51: Lymphedema Treatment and Surgery for Breast Cancer Patients

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March 1, 2024, was the first day of lymphedema awareness month. We hope you will share this information with the embedded podcast in your community for breast cancer patients affected by lymphedema providing them with the resources needed to treat this condition and let them know there are specialists in surgical treatment options as well. I am pleased to provide this summary of Episode 51: Lymphedema Treatment and Surgery for Breast Cancer Patients. A Specialist in the Field of Lymphedema Treatment My guest is Dr. Charles Anton Fries, Chief of Plastic Surgery and faculty surgeon at UT Health San Antonio and works as a microsurgeon with the team at PRMA, Plastic Reconstructive Microsurgical Associates, in San Antonio. The management of lymphedema has seen significant improvement in the past few years. We will educate, dispel some fears surrounding the possible occurrence of lymphedema, and bring you some resources for care. The Continue Reading →

Episode 2: Blood Vessels in Breast Reconstruction

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I take you on a Journey of the amazing and complex system of blood vessels used in breast reconstruction in Episode 2. My “guest navigator” is Dr. Tim Matatov, a board-certified trained microsurgeon whose professional focus is performing autologous breast reconstruction for those affected by breast cancer. Let’s dive into to this podcast, Blood Vessels in Breast Reconstruction. Learning the Blood Vessels in Microsurgery Microsurgery is a subspeciality of plastic surgery and takes additional years of training and practice. Microsurgeons, like Dr. Matatov, perform a variety of autologous breast reconstruction using various flaps comprising this system of blood vessels. These flaps are often referred to using acronyms to describe the part of the body they come from. Here is a list of breast reconstruction flaps performed at Dr. Matatov’s practice. DIEP flap: deep inferior epigastric perforators using the tummy tissue. TDAP: Thoracodorsal artery perforator using tissue from the back. DCIA: Continue Reading →

Dealing with the Aftermath of Breast Cancer and Surgery

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There is no instruction book for this. You are diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening disease. Yes, I know, our survivor rates and treatment have both improved over the years. But what those years mean to a person going through treatment or healing from surgery has an entirely different meaning. It is a difficult Journey dealing with the aftermath of breast cancer and surgery. Dealing with Breast Cancer Emotions Take a bag of rocks, all different sizes, colors, and shapes. Put them in a box and shake them. Shake them loud and hard. It is sometimes the internal noise, like shaking this bag of rocks, that gets to you after a breast cancer diagnosis and surgery. Anger, fear, unknowns, disbelief, shame, guilt. There is your bag of rocks. You feel all of these emotions, sometimes more. Were you equipped to deal with this? Did you expect this to happen in your Continue Reading →

Telemedicine: Patient Care During COVID-19

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I recently interviewed a friend and patient advocate, Kirstin Litz, to find out how she successfully set up her first telemedicine appointment in the time of COVID-19. This was her oncology appointment for follow up breast cancer care. I also asked others for tips on how best to conduct telemedicine and optimize patient care in the time of COVID-19. Landline Vs. Mobile Phones for Messages Most of us use mobile phones for the bulk of our everyday communication with friends and businesses. However, home phones and landlines are sometimes a preferred number to reference when filling out contact forms for medical offices to use as an answering system. This was the case for Kirstin. She knew when her oncologist told her the appointment would be a video call, the landline number was not going to work. In addition to the message left on her landline, she received emails via 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 →

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 →

Breast Reconstruction and New Genetic Testing Guidelines

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As a patient advocate who provides resources for breast reconstruction, I am paying close attention to the new updated genetic testing guidelines issued by the American Society of Breast Surgeons. The information needed to make an informed decision is multi-faceted. Without providing updated information to the community I serve, those affected by breast cancer, some will remain uninformed. Being uninformed translates into not being able to have a shared decision-making conversation with any health care provider about genetic testing if you are affected by breast cancer. Being aware of these new updated guidelines can be a pivotal point in your decision to move forward with breast reconstruction or not. Surveillance, surgery, treatment, or future testing are decisions often made based on genetic test results. Therefore, writing about this topic is important to me. Understanding the Information on Updated Genetic Testing Guidelines There have been several articles written this week on Continue Reading →

Whitney’s Story: Prophylactic Mastectomy and DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction

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Our Journey personal story takes place this week with my neighbor. It is Whitney’s story of prophylactic mastectomy and DIEP flap breast reconstruction. Whitney has the genetic mutation for ATM and CHEK2 putting her at very high risk for breast cancer. She is a young woman in her mid-thirties who very much wants to be a part of her children’s’ lives. She will be having her surgery when they are one and four years old.  Whitney was the tender age of 24 when she watched her own mother die of breast cancer. She was her caregiver so her decision to undergo prophylactic mastectomy and DIEP flap has not been easy. Here is her story. A Neighbor on the Journey from Mastectomy to Breast Reconstruction I am blessed. Each day I engage with an amazing group of women on the Facebook page I administer, The Journey. When I found out Whitney Continue Reading →

Waiting for a DIEP Flap Surgery Date

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Ruth is one of over 2,400 global members of DiepCJourney Facebook group. I am honored to share her story here. The wait for her DIEP flap breast reconstruction surgery has been challenging for Ruth on many levels. She tells us her personal story and what it means waiting for a DIEP flap surgery date. Delayed DIEP Flap: The Wait Begins It was October 2014 when I received my breast cancer diagnosis. I live in a small beautiful, city tucked away in the south east corner of British Columbia. Though I was able to have a mastectomy and chemotherapy locally, unfortunately our hospital does not have the facilities to offer either radiation or reconstructive surgery. It was decided having a mastectomy would be the first course in my treatment. Opting for immediate reconstructive surgery would have meant a delay as well as travelling over 500km to Kelowna or over 800km to Continue Reading →

Your Hospital Prep the Morning of Breast Reconstruction

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You are diagnosed with breast cancer or are having a prophylactic mastectomy due to a gene mutation putting you at high risk for breast cancer. You spent days, weeks, or perhaps months talking to others and researching the best plastic surgeon because you have decided to have breast reconstruction. Now it’s the morning of surgery and it’s time for your hospital prep. You enter the hospital early in the morning, sometimes before the break of dawn. You have eaten very little. A hundred thoughts run through your head knowing you will soon be put to sleep while your breasts are removed and replaced with either implants or your own tissue. The shower and prep with the antibacterial soap you are instructed to use the morning of surgery is complete. You feel like you are squeaky clean from tip to toe. You might wish you could have on makeup and deodorant. Continue Reading →