Finding Trusted Breast Reconstruction Resources

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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 →

Nipple Prosthesis after Mastectomy from Naturally Impressive, LLC

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Decisions and Waiting It’s SO hard to wait! -for pathology report or test results -to be done with chemo / radiation -to be done with breast reconstruction That moment when you’re finally done with treatment and breast reconstruction is so exciting! The next thought is to get nipples and you’ll be completely done with it all and able to feel “normal” again. Sounds so simple, but a good nipple solution can be frustratingly elusive. If you are planning to have a permanent option like nipple tattoos or surgical nipple reconstruction, you might get the news that you need to wait at least 3 to 6 months for tissue to settle. That can feel like forever to have to look in the mirror and see a “blank slate” or lopsided chest. We never knew how important our nipples were before we lost them, did we? But wait…you CAN have nipples much Continue Reading →

Breast Surgery Recovery Shirt I Wish I’d Had

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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?

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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 →

A Breast Reconstruction Tattoo Completes a Patient Journey

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Connections made through the breast cancer community often become delightful friendships. So is the case with Sandra and me. We both had our DIEP flap breast reconstruction done in San Antonio at PRMA, Plastic Reconstructive Microsurgical Associates. Sandra is also a member of the Journey Facebook page. She volunteers her time when I make visits back to San Antonio for my Foundation work. I invited her to sit down and share her story. You can view the video in the blog of how a breast reconstruction tattoo completes a patient Journey. Sandra’s plastic surgeon informed her at her consult for her DIEP flap surgery that she would be losing her nipples. She felt comfortable with this decision for her best health and aesthetic outcomes knowing he would rebuild the nipples during the second phase of her breast reconstruction. The tattooing of the areola area could be done after healing from Continue Reading →

Father’s Day: The Empty Rocking Chair

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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

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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 →

Breast Reconstruction Wounds and Management

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I derive a great deal of information from the surgeons and patient members of the Journey Facebook group. The questions they ask are pertinent to the healing process as well as various aspects and the decision to have breast reconstruction. When I have an opportunity to visit our physician members, I schedule time to do videos to answer questions patient members are asking. Knowing how demanding the schedule of plastic surgeons can be, I am honored once again to sit with Dr. Minas Chrysopoulo of PRMA in San Antonio at the end of his long clinic day to talk about the topic of breast reconstruction wounds and management, dedication I am grateful for. Thanks Dr. C! Medical Comorbidities to Consider We begin our discussion with a patient inquiry about a medical comorbidity (condition) called Factor V Leiden. Dr. C clarifies this is a clotting problem not a wound healing issue. Continue Reading →

Breast Reconstruction Patients Sharing Their Journeys

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A group of women joined each other for an evening of friendship and support. Sounds like great fun, doesn’t it? It went far deeper than that. Or perhaps I should say, it went far “DIEP-er” than that. Each of the women who gathered for the event were scheduled for or had DIEP flap breast reconstruction. They all belonged to the Facebook group, DiepCJourney, known simply as “The Journey” to many. These women were all breast reconstruction patients supporting each other and sharing their Journeys. Social Media Breast Reconstruction Group: The Journey Social media holds great value finding like-minded people you can connect with. But little compares to personal connections, meeting someone in person, sharing a hug, and lending special individual and emotional support. The group of women I met in San Antonio on a warm April evening shared stories they understood before they met in person. Most of us were Continue Reading →

Patient Advocacy at ASBrS

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It was an honor to attend the American Society of Breast Surgeons meeting as a patient advocate. I felt welcome from the moment I arrived. The first breast surgeon I met was a past president of ASBrS, Dr. Deanna Attai. I have been interacting with Dr. Attai on Social Media through #bcsm tweet chats but never had the opportunity to meet her in person. We sat in the lobby of the hotel to share a cup of coffee. The first question she asked me was, “Terri, why did you attend the meeting?” I smiled at her because it was the question I wanted to be asked as a patient advocate attending ASBrS. I folded my arms on the table, leaned in as I smiled at Dr. Attai, and answered her question with a question, “Guess who told me about all my options for breast reconstruction?” The smile on her face Continue Reading →