Let’s Honor All Choices and Decisions after Mastectomy!

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I am speaking to anyone who knows a person who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. I am speaking to anyone who knows a person who has a genetic mutation putting them at high risk of developing breast cancer. These individuals are faced with difficult choices after hearing the news in either circumstance. Let’s honor all decisions and choices after mastectomy, please! No one can fully understand how difficult the decision is except the person facing a surgical treatment option. Your body, the body you had before mastectomy, is going to be altered. I hear far too often from those facing mastectomy they are questioned, criticized, and left feeling unsupported and confused about their decision to reconstruct their breasts or remain flat. Why does this happen? Here are some statements I hear from those who don’t feel supported: Oh, you’re getting a boob job, huh? Wow! I wish I could 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 →

El valor de una 2ª opinión para la reconstrucción mamaria

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El valor de una segunda opinión para la reconstrucción mamaria es, afortunadamente, algo que tiene el potencial de dar esperanzas a las mujeres que han sido rechazadas en una consulta inicial para una reconstrucción mamaria autóloga. Tuve la fortuna de hablar con dos cirujanos certificados, el Dr. David Song de MedStar Georgetown y el Dr. Minas Chrysopoulo de PRMA en San Antonio. Ambos son cirujanos plásticos que rutinariamente realizan una variedad de cirugías reconstructivas de mama con tejidos de la propia paciente con gran éxito. ¿Qué es la reconstrucción mamaria autóloga? La reconstrucción mamaria autóloga consiste en utilizar el tejido y los vasos sanguíneos subyacentes de otra área del cuerpo de la propia paciente para crear un seno nuevo y suave después de una mastectomía. ¿Por qué a veces las mujeres son rechazadas por los cirujanos plásticos o se les dicen que no son buenas candidatas para la reconstrucción mamaria 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 →

Recovery from Breast Reconstruction: A bit like the Winter Doldrums?

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Does recovery from breast reconstruction seem a bit like making it through the winter doldrums? Sometimes, yes, it does. The recovery period, for any breast reconstruction takes a bit of time. However, if you have had any type of autologous (using your own tissue) breast reconstruction you will be recovering for a few weeks. Long, cold, snowy, winter days when you can’t get out of the house reminds me of my own recovery from DIEP flap surgery. Fatigue and Recovery from Breast Reconstruction You will be fatigued for a few weeks after surgery. Your body is working overtime to rid itself of the effects of anesthesia. You are also in healing mode so it will take a lot out of you when you are released from hospital. I often tell women I knew when I was getting back to normal when suddenly one day, I no longer needed my daily Continue Reading →

Post Breast Reconstruction Nips that Stick

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Wouldn’t it be nice if prosthetic nipples would stick just like window cling? You simply slap them on and they stay on until you peeled them off.  Newsflash: skin isn’t like glass! Our marvelous, living, breathing skin with natural oils and sweat glands just isn’t like the surface of glass – thank goodness! “Nips that don’t stick” is a common and frustrating problem for many types of prosthetic nipples. Falling off at embarrassing moments or potentially getting lost can understandably be deal breakers for women considering nipple prosthetics after breast cancer surgery. Finding a way to provide secure adhesion for Naturally Impressive nipples sticking securely on the breast was one of our first big challenges. We had developed a nipple that looked fantastically real, but when using Pros-Aide water based adhesive, they only stayed on a few days, at best. Often I’d find them in the bed sheets in the morning Continue Reading →

Honoring My Sweet Friend Valerie Hewson Wright

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Today I honor the passing of a life well-lived. Valerie Hewson Wright lived a life a love and vibrancy through a breast cancer diagnosis and most recently, metastatic breast cancer. I am angry, pissed to be quite honest, and deeply saddened at losing a friend to this insidious disease we have yet to find a cure for.  Val and I never met in person, but I feel so very close to her and why I weep today at her passing. Our Nonprofit Connection When I began thinking about opening my own nonprofit Foundation in 2017, I would call Valerie and ask her questions about the logistics of running an organization to help others. She successfully opened VforVictory Foundation to mail drain holders out to breast cancer and breast reconstruction patients after their surgery. She worked tirelessly for these women and why I leaned on her for her advice. Her famous 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 →

How Difficult is the Decision to Have DIEP flap Breast Reconstruction?

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A Difficult Decision for Me to Have DIEP flap It is very difficult to make the decision to have DIEP flap breast reconstruction. I had this surgery in 2014 after a second breast cancer diagnosis and losing my breasts after a double mastectomy. I want to share what other women go through to have this amazing yet complex surgery. Who Might Consider Having DIEP flap Surgery? I listen to stories from basically two groups. The first group are women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer.  It is not always the case, but the hope is I hear these women are given all their options for breast reconstruction. Otherwise, how could they even make an informed decision about their choices to reconstruct their breasts? It is most important all options for breast reconstruction are presented after careful assessment of biopsies, various imaging procedures, that should include a shared decision-making conversation Continue Reading →

The Elusive Nipple Solution After Breast Cancer Surgery

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For many of us going through breast cancer, by the time we get through diagnosis, surgery, treatment and breast reconstruction, we have an eager anticipation of the final step of getting nipples to help us feel whole and complete. It seems like it should be simple, but often it drags on and on without a satisfactory solution.  Surgical nipples flatten, tattoos fade, prosthetics fall off. I was really fortunate. After my unilateral mastectomy in 2007, while I was still in the breast reconstruction process, my innovative husband was inspired by my plastic surgeon to develop a silicone nipple-areola for me. What a gift! It makes me feel so joyful to look in the mirror after showering or while dressing and see the symmetry of two nipples. It eases some of the sting of what breast cancer has taken from me as a woman.    My Husband & I had no Continue Reading →