Tag: Breast Reconstruction

Can We Drive Change in Breast Sensation Through Webinar Attendance?

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We have become accustomed to attending online webinars. One I have watched from inception is the iBreastBook webinars. It was designed by oncoplastic breast surgeon Yazan Masannat. He is located in Aberdeen, Scotland. I continually learn from these webinars and appreciate the global presence of presenters and attendees. Yazan is driving change in breast surgery by exploring the latest surgical techniques in breast surgery in these online learning opportunities. The most recent one I attended I ask myself; can we drive change in breast sensation through webinar attendance?” Why is Driving Change in Breast Sensation Important to Me? The title of the webinar I am commenting on is, Mastectomy: What is New. The presenters were an impressive group of international surgeons in breast surgery. They are as follows: I am a patient who has experienced successful return of sensation to my breasts after DIEP flap breast reconstruction. It is equally Continue Reading →

Episode 19: Delayed and Revision Breast Reconstruction

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Dr. David Light, MD, of NYBRA Plastic Surgery, is a board certified, fellowship trained plastic surgeon with a dual practice focused on breast reconstruction and aesthetic surgery. Our topic on Episode 19: delayed and revision breast reconstruction. Here is the summary of our conversation on the DiepCJourney podcast. Telemedicine for Delayed and Revision Breast Reconstruction Dr. Light performs over three hundred primary and revision breast surgeries per year. Besides DIEPflap, he also performs other microsurgical specialty flaps for breast reconstruction including the SIEA, PAP, LTP, and GAP flap. His practice also includes implant-based breast reconstruction. Microsurgery is a unique subspecialty of plastic surgery requiring further training. It involves anastomosis or tying together of blood vessels among other skills. For this reason, access  to microsurgeons is limited across the U. S. Many patients must travel to have autologous breast reconstruction, reconstruction using your own tissue with a blood source. Microsurgeons have Continue Reading →

Fatigued by Being Affected by Breast Cancer?

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People are affected by breast cancer in many ways. A person diagnosed can be fatigued from treatments. Some effects may seem short-term after finishing chemotherapy, radiation, or having surgery. Those in the metastatic breast cancer community have life-long effects they face for the remainder of their lives. I am speaking of the long-term effects of fatigue and being affected by breast cancer in both of these groups. The Fatigue that Effects Daily Living        Fatigue from breast cancer can come in many forms. You may feel physically fatigued from having surgery or undergoing treatment. It disrupts your body’s system causing it to work overtime during the healing process. As you sit in your chair feeling this way, you may become sad, feeling helpless, as you watch others trying to take care of you when perhaps a week or month before surgery or treatment you were the one taking care of others. Continue Reading →

Breast Reconstruction Nipple Tattoo Artistry Experience

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This story is about three friends in vastly separate places in their lives, uniquely connected through the breast cancer experience, and a narrative of a breast reconstruction nipple tattoo artistry experience. Whitney’s Breast Reconstruction Story I met Whitney in 2019 shortly after moving back to Seattle. Our past connections are uncanny. We remain friends and the story behind how it came to be still warms my heart. You can read more about it in this blog and how Whitney’s genetic mutation for ATM and CHEK2 put her at high risk for getting breast cancer. She completed her breast reconstruction Journey traveling to San Antonio having her DIEP flap performed at PRMA. Whitney communicated with me while she was in Texas revealing how pleased she was with her surgery. My heart was happy to hear about support from her husband and other Journey members living in the San Antonia area. Because Continue Reading →

Episode 24: Sexual Health Program for Cancer Patients

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Sharon Bober, PhD, Psychologist, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Assistant Professor in the department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, chats with us on this episode of the DiepCJourney podcast. I met Sharon through the Scientific Network on Female Sexual Health and Cancer where she is the current chair of this organization. Our topic in this blog summary of the podcast; sexual health program for cancer patients. Why Sexual Health is not Often Talked About I feel the intimate and sometimes uncomfortable nature of the topic, sexual health, is one of the major reasons it is not often talked about at consult for cancer patients. Dr. Bober points out very few medical professionals have formal training in sexual health. Further, she points out managing sexual disfunction remains outside the bounds of normal conversation. A noticeably clear statement she makes is, “We live in a culture that is suffused with images of Continue Reading →

Staying Connected in 2022

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We have rolled over another year of the calendar. Living through two years of a global pandemic has not been easy for any of us. There are traits we have learned about ourselves we did not know we were capable of, like patience and persistence. None of us anywhere on Earth were prepared to deal with all the rapid changes we continue to make because of the pandemic. And yet we have somehow stayed connected. I feel so strongly and see such immense value in staying connected in 2022. Staying Connected Through social media Whether you have one social media account or many, whether you have actually met your social media friends in person or not, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and others, these platforms connect us in valuable ways. I think there are two important questions to ask yourself when using social media. The answer to question number one should Continue Reading →

How Are you Feeling Toward the End of The Year?

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Are you feeling anxious? Peaceful? Introspective? Determined to roll into the New Year with some novel ideas and changes in your life? It is the time of year when we can feel any, and all of these emotions and they can change within a moment, a day, or a week because of an unexpected circumstance. As we roll into the month of December, it is time to ask, how are you feeling toward the end of the year? End of the Year Holiday Celebrations There are holiday celebrations in December like Hanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas, and similar celebrations around the world. I recall the excitement of children in my classroom during my years as an ESL teacher honoring each of these holidays. Students loved learning and experiencing the difference and similarities in all of the holidays. This was during a time when families were allowed and felt comfortable bringing Continue Reading →

A Home for the Breast Cancer Quilt

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I first encountered DiepC Journey ~ Breast Reconstruction after Mastectomy Facebook group when researching my options for prophylactic measures due to carrying a BRCA1 gene mutation. I instantly connected with the vibe of the group. What a wealth of information! If you know the founder of DiepC Foundation and the accompanying Facebook group, Terri Coutee, you will know just how welcoming, no-nonsense, and warm she is in all her advice and education pieces. She works to give each member a personalized experience when interacting with her foundation and page and she has helped countless woman and men dealing with breast cancer or breast cancer risk. Terri and I clicked, we’re both in the Pacific Northwest, shared a mutual friend, and both chose the same reconstruction—DIEP flap (using tissue from the belly.) We even made a video together. My Breast Cancer Journey to a Twist But! Here’s where the twist comes Continue Reading →

Global Collaboration and Learning on the Topic of Breast Reconstruction

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Collaboration is defined as an action working together with someone to produce or create something. My chosen profession is education. Working with my team in school districts to share ideas exhilarated me. Now, as a nonprofit leader and Founder of DiepCFoundation, I frequently experience global collaboration and learning on the topic of breast reconstruction. Developing a Community of Collaboration Our geographic world is expansive but our ability to collaborate is only an email, text, or message away. When I opened the DiepCJourney private Facebook page, often referred to by members as “The Journey” in the summer of 2015, I had no idea the global relationships that would develop on this page, let alone the other social media accounts I use for the Foundation. The need for education, support, and resources for all options of breast reconstruction after mastectomy continues. I witness this every day on “The Journey”. I set the Continue Reading →

Twenty Years: My Memories of 9/11 and What I Didn’t Know

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When dates in your life approach on the calendar emotions arise. The events of 9/11 still have great impact on the world. While speaking to friends this week, on the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, we recall exactly where we were and what we were doing the morning we heard the news. Twenty years, my memories of 9/11, and what I didn’t know are told in this blog. Where Were You When You Heard the News on 9/11? September of 2001 brought exciting new beginnings for us. We were new residents to Texas having moved from Seattle to a town north of Houston in the summer of that year. It was a beautiful, warm, fall morning in Texas. Our youngest son was a few blocks away safely tucked in his classes at middle school. My husband was an hour’s drive away in Houston, a large city where the oil and gas Continue Reading →