Tag: breast cancer

Sharing the Emotional Night I Was Awarded Patient of Courage

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Some moments in life are forever etched in your memory. The evening of September 28, 2018, at the Navy Pier in Chicago is one of those moments for me. I want to share the emotional night I was one of three recipients awarded the Patient of Courage from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons at their annual meeting, PSTM18. The Anticipation Was Worth the Wait! I received news in the spring I was the 2018 recipient of the Patient of Courage Award. I was nominated by the plastic surgeon who performed my DIEP flap breast reconstruction, Dr. Minas Chrysopoulo of PRMA in San Antonio. The process was a bit like waiting for Christmas, keeping the secret, enjoying all the preparation, and finally celebrating the evening. The fantastic ASPS media crew scheduled a trip to my home in Arizona mid-August to film my story in a YouTube video. Until the video Continue Reading →

Reflecting on the Pink of October and Breast Cancer

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October and the color pink have been symbolic of breast cancer for many years. It is a color both embraced for its meaning and at the same time despised by what many consider over use and misuse. I understand since I have survived breast cancer twice myself. This year brings me to a personal point of reflection on the pink of October and breast cancer. It has been one of the most rigorous months I’ve experienced in quite some time; mixed with emotions of gratitude, anticipation, new friendships, farewells, sadness, and letting go. The Shared Decision Making Panel at #PSTM18 It began with one of the proudest moments of my professional career as I sat on a panel with my breast reconstruction surgeon, Dr. Minas Chrysopoulo, a dear friend and patient advocate colleague, Kirstin Litz, and a new friend Dr. Hani Sbitany speaking about the importance of shared decision making Continue Reading →

Who is Responsible? Aesthetic Outcomes of Breast Reconstruction Surgery

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It is an important topic to discuss. Who is responsible for the aesthetic outcomes of breast reconstruction surgery? The headline in the September 6, 2018, online article from Cosmopolitan reads: These Cancer Patients Wanted to Get Rid of Their Breasts for Good. Their Doctors Had Other Ideas. It is an emotionally filled article from women who chose to go flat. These women woke up after surgery with results that left them angered, saddened, disappointed, and fighting a battle to find out how to change things. In fact, on September 8, 2018, the article mentioned: … she’s organizing the first Not Putting On a Shirt Nationwide Walk in Cleveland, Ohio, in which women will join her to march topless and raise awareness around the issue. A sister march will be held in Los Angeles in the same day. The article speaks of women who chose to remain flat after their mastectomy 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 →

Breast Cancer: Why We Choose to Be Patient Advocates

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I recently took part in an online meeting with two friends and fellow patient advocates. We met through the Project LEAD Institute program in July of 2017. Why did we apply for scholarship and attend this intensive week of the study of breast cancer biology? We all want further training to improve our advocacy knowledge base, so we could better serve our communities. The focus of our discussion at our online meeting; “Why do we choose to be patient advocates”? Kirstin, Jennifer, and I remain close friends. We talk frequently via phone chats, texts, and emails and ask each other for advice. We seek resources when we cannot find them for our community who might be in need. Opportunities for new learning, conferences to attend, and sharing new studies are just a few of the advocacy tools we share with each other to stay on top of our game. Our Continue Reading →

Who Inspires You as a Breast Cancer Survivor?

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There are endless topics to write about when you blog as a two-time cancer survivor. Most weeks are planned topics, some topics are fun, and then there are delightful moments in your week leading to an unanticipated topic. You are inspired, and you know what the topic of your blog will be for the week. Who inspires you as a breast cancer survivor? This week it was my two friends, Jim, and Sean, who I met in my Livestrong class at the local YMCA. Both men have survived brain cancer. Both men endured physical impairment and fought to make a comeback to their now “new normal” life. I was at the gym doing my weekly workout. I had completed my cardio on the elliptical machine. I was finishing on weights. I do weights three to four times a week. The prescription I am on to keep my cancer at bay Continue Reading →

I Had DIEP Flap. Do You Know What That Is?

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I Had DIEP Flap. Do You Know What That Is? Picture this scenario. You walk into a physician or health care provider’s office after having DIEP flap breast reconstruction. They ask you to discuss your current health and why you came into the office for a visit. A standard question, right?  You are in a gown sitting on the exam table with only your underwear on under the gown. You know they are going to do a full exam and ask you to open the gown. Before they begin the exam, you say, “I had DIEP flap. Do you know what that is?” The answer is often one of two replies, “Oh yes, I see. You had a TRAM Flap.” Or, “No, I have no idea what a DIEP flap is.” This is when the education begins. The physician says, “Well, let’s take a look.” I open my gown and Continue Reading →

Why are We Spending So Much Time with Insurance Calls?

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I truly believe this is a question both patients and physicians ask themselves quite frequently; Why are we spending so much time on insurance calls? This week alone, I spent upwards of three hours battling my insurance company to reinstate a medication that has proven to work for me for the past four years and suddenly is no longer covered by them. I found this out at my oncologist’s office recently when I went in to get my Prolia injection. Since my second breast cancer diagnosis in 2014 I have successfully, with little or no side effects, taken this injection to prevent bone loss from the medication I am on, AI, to prevent my cancer from recurring. One of the side effects of the AI is bone loss and why I was prescribed Prolia. The Prolia was working! I was even on their Patient Co-Pay Program greatly reducing my out-of-pocket Continue Reading →

Breast Reconstruction: Seromas Evaluation and Treatment

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We looked at the pre and post-operative assessment of seromas after breast reconstruction in a previous blog and video. Here, Drs. Minas Chrysopoulo and Ramon Garza III of PRMA in San Antonio explain to the viewer how to evaluate and treat a seroma if it occurs after breast reconstruction. Seromas form because of your body’s natural healing processes. Think of a wound you get on the outside of your body. The body produces fluid as part of the healing process. You see fluid as with a scraped knee or a burn. Imagine the wound on the inside of your body that forms because of surgery. Your body is going to produce fluid internally due to the trauma of surgery. This fluid must be managed. Dr. C, as his patients refer to him, explains a seroma can happen anywhere someone has surgery. In breast reconstruction this can be in the breast Continue Reading →

What Do Breast Cancer and BRCA Friends Share in Common?

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I know that Heather Barnard and I share a lot in common! We are both educators. Breast cancer has affected Heather and me. Heather and I have had a mastectomy. Heather and I had breast reconstruction. We both write blogs about our breast reconstruction experience. Finally, and most coincidentally, we had the same plastic surgeon perform our breast reconstruction. What makes our friendship unique? We have never met in person. Heather and I live over 9,000 miles apart. Our shared commonalities, however, have bridged those miles and made us friends. Her Twitter handle says it all, @expattravelmom. She teaches in Singapore and in her off time travels extensively with her husband and three great children. I had my DIEP flap breast reconstruction in December of 2014. Heather had a prophylactic mastectomy with immediate implant breast reconstruction in June of 2015. Dr. Chrysopoulo was our connection. Heather would message me asking Continue Reading →