Tag: Breast Reconstruction

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 →

Episode 11: Decorative and Restorative Tattoos for Breast Cancer Patients

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Eric Eye is our guest on Episode 11 discussing decorative and restorative tattoos for breast cancer patients on the DiepCJourney podcast. He is a trained visual artist who performs 3D nipple and areola tattoos for patients who have had mastectomy and breast reconstruction after breast cancer. His work can be found on his Instagram account as well as his Facebook page. He is located in Seattle, Washington but Eric has traveled to other locations to provide services for breast cancer patients. Bringing Art to Life in Decorative and Restorative Tattoos The story of how he transitioned from years of experience in tattooing to providing restorative tattoos for breast cancer patients is a touching one. What are restorative tattoos? Eric’s work includes beautiful and artistic drawings covering a mastectomy or breast reconstruction scar. This can be across the breast area or an abdominal scar from DIEP flap surgery. They are most Continue Reading →

Trusting your Body after Breast Cancer and Breast Reconstruction

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I hear it so often from those affected by breast cancer or breast reconstruction. They experience weakness, loss of muscle mass, sense of balance, and overall strength. I know this feeling. It’s frustrating, feels like a true sense of loss, and sometimes even feels a bit hopeless as if you will never return to the person you were prior to treatment and surgery. I want to share my own experiences, provide hope and why trusting your body after breast cancer and breast reconstruction can be an important part of physical and mental recovery. Loss of Strength after Breast Cancer A breast cancer diagnosis is shocking for most. It is both physically and mentally challenging depleting the body and mind. I remember the absolute fatigue I felt from hearing about the diagnosis, crying, telling my family,  and going to all the subsequent appointments following my first diagnosis. After I had two Continue Reading →

Recycling Thoughts of My Breast Cancer Diagnosis

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It is funny how the daily events of life can conjure up memories from when you were diagnosed with breast cancer. Oh, diagnosed with breast cancer twice in my case. Our community is holding a recycling event this weekend. While clearing out various files I came across some paperwork I saved from my first diagnosis is 2002, my second diagnosis in 2014, and also my DIEP flap breast reconstruction also in 2014. It was like recycling thoughts from my breast cancer diagnosis. The Diagnosis Process Does Not Change Much What was interesting to me was an email I printed from a best friend and survivor herself. She was diagnosed a couple of years before I was. To read more about our connection and understand the meaning behind out song, “I Hope You Dance” you can read this blog. She had great pearls of wisdom to share with me. I speak Continue Reading →

How Digital Health Can Enhance your Breast Reconstruction Decision

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Patients become unintended experts on a topic they likely had no intention of being an authority on. When you receive a diagnosis of breast cancer one of the biggest challenges is understanding the medical information you have to digest and make sense of for your own future health. How will these decisions affect your body, lifestyle, and long-term survival? If you are facing loss of breast due to a mastectomy, things can become a step more complex when digesting and understanding your options. Luckily, we live in an era where we have access to digital tools to assist with these decision processes. Digital health can improve your breast reconstruction decision. Defining Digital Health First let’s define what digital health is. It encompasses many platforms. Digital health can but is not limited to entities such as virtual consultations via your computer or phone and apps specific to a topic you need Continue Reading →

DiepCJourney Private Facebook Group: A Safe Place to Land

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Social Media is a way for others to connect in communities to discuss like-minded topics. I began the private Facebook group, DiepCJourney: Breast Reconstruction after mastectomy, in May of 2015. The purpose of the group is to inform those who are facing or have had a mastectomy about all their breast reconstruction options and choices. This includes the surgical option for no reconstruction, aesthetic flat closure. We are a global community. We want DiepCJourney Facebook group to be your safe place to land. DiepCJourney Facebook Discusses all Options The chest wall is the scaffold of the surgeon. The decision to reconstruct after a mastectomy is supported  whether you choose implants, use your own tissue (autologous reconstruction), a combination of both, a lumpectomy, or no reconstruction, referred to as aesthetic flat closure. This requires decision making. On DiepCJourney and at the Founding organization, DiepCFoundation, we promote the idea of shared decision-making. Continue Reading →

Cancer Survivor’s Day: Thoughts from Personal Journeys

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Days on the calendar reminding us of what we love, embrace, are actively involved in, and remind us that these commemorative days fill us with emotions, good and bad. There are holidays that have been on the calendar throughout history. Social media has caused new and interesting ones celebrating food, fun, and other trivial items uniting those who join in. Cancer Survivor’s Day, from my research, began in 1988. What does it mean to those who have survived? I decided to listen to those in my community and share thoughts on Cancer Survivor’s Day and some thoughts from personal Journeys. DiepCJourney: Thoughts on Cancer Survivor’s Day I began the closed Facebook group, DiepCJourney: Breast Reconstruction after Mastectomy in May of 2015 after my successful DIEP flap breast reconstruction. Being a two-time breast cancer survivor impacts my life daily. I decided support, finding resources, providing education for others would be my Continue Reading →

Episode 8: ERAS Protocol in Breast Reconstruction

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Are fear of pain and time of recovery after breast reconstruction surgery some of your biggest concerns? If so, Episode 8: ERAS Protocol in Breast Reconstruction, with Dr. Minas Chrysopoulo will give you information about ERAS (Enhanced Recovery after Surgery) protocol many large volume centers are now using for DIEP flap and other types of breast reconstruction. Dr. C is the president of  PRMA in San Antonio and the developer of the Breast Advocate app. Both of these sites have more information about ERAS protocol as well as the DiepCJourney blog and  DiepC Foundation YouTube channel.  Why Use ERAS? There is a shared interest Dr. C and I share in having this conversation. He states it very clearly at the beginning of the podcast. The number one beneficiary is patient experience and patient outcomes. There are substantial data and evidence-based studies about results of using ERAS and the benefits it offers patients. In fact, follow the directions below and Continue Reading →

Episode 4: Coordinated Care in Breast Cancer

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Have you been diagnosed with breast cancer or at high risk of getting breast cancer due to a genetic mutation? Do you remember the day you heard those words and got the news? How many healthcare providers did you have on your team? In Episode 4 we discuss the importance of coordinated care in breast cancer. My guest is an educator, microsurgeon and Director for MedStar Plastic and Reconstruction surgery and Academic Chair for the Department of Plastic Surgery at Georgetown University Medical Center, Dr. David H. Song. He chairs the BC3 Conference in Washington, D. C. The purpose of the conference as stated from the website: Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women. Diagnosis and treatments are part of the practice of a wide number of medical specialists and there are national initiatives calling for a multidisciplinary approach to the care of breast cancer patients. The multiple Continue Reading →

Breast Reconstruction Truth: Headlines and Research

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Are you considering breast reconstruction? When I was faced with a second breast cancer diagnosis, had a double mastectomy, and began to do my own research about breast reconstruction, I was either oversaturated with information or wanted to shut down from information overload. When researching breast reconstruction, how do you distinguish the truth in headlines and research? The Moment of Truth The moment of truth begins when you are diagnosed or find you have a high risk of getting breast cancer due to a gene mutation. This moment is most often at the office of your healthcare provider. An oncologist, radiologist, breast surgeon, or genetic counselor are the most likely people to give you this news. You walk out the door with pamphlets and information. They might give you resources for online support, virtual meetings with other survivors, or websites to research. I hear so many individuals in this situation Continue Reading →