Most of us realize that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Those omnipresent pink ribbons remind us. But there?s one part of the breast cancer experience many women know little about: breast reconstruction after a mastectomy.
?There are thousands and thousands of women in Louisiana walking around without one or two breasts, because they don?t know the options available to them,? Kim Sport says. ?Research shows that seven out of 10 women are never told about their options.?
Sport, a New Orleanian and two-time breast cancer survivor, has been working to change that since she had reconstruction.
Here are some things she wants everyone to know about breast reconstruction:
If an insurance company pays for a mastectomy, it must also cover breast reconstruction surgery. ?That was a law passed in 1998,? she says.
Clients must be told about the coverage by insurance companies. ?And, in Louisiana, we have a statute that says doctors must inform women of all their breast cancer treatment alternatives, including reconstruction,? she says.
Breast reconstruction is not simply cosmetic surgery. Insurers, including Medicare and Medicaid, must cover it. ?It?s considered a medical necessity for the physical and emotional well-being of breast cancer patients,? she says.
Sport, 57, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001 and underwent a lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. When she finished the treatments, she was cancer-free.
?I thought I had done everything possible, so I was totally unprepared when I learned I had a new cancer in the same breast in 2008,? she says.
It was not a recurrence, but a different type of breast cancer. In the seven years since her first battle with cancer, Sport, a lawyer, had become active in many cancer causes, and along the way she had become educated about the advances in breast reconstruction microsurgery.
?When I became a breast cancer patient, I was never told about reconstruction. I found out on my own,? she says.
Even though she had cancer in only one breast, she opted to have a bilateral mastectomy, followed by reconstruction.
?I thought, ?I?ve already had two cancers. Why even risk having to do all this again?? she says.
Since the surgery, Sport has talked to many breast cancer patients and shown them the results of her reconstruction.
?It?s really important to them to hear about my experiences and see real results instead of just looking at pictures,? she says.
The reconstruction was performed by Dr. Frank DellaCroce, who co-founded the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery with Dr. Scott Sullivan. Both are plastic surgeons and pioneers in the field of breast reconstruction microsurgery. Between them, they have performed more than 4,000 procedures for women with breast cancer at the center on St. Charles Avenue.
I first heard about the center last year when I wrote about survivor Eve Wallinga, who came from St. Cloud, Minn., for reconstruction surgery after doing a lot of research on types of reconstructive surgery available to her.
?I learned that New Orleans was kind of a mecca for breast reconstruction,? she told me. ?You have a number of different doctors who are very, very skilled.?
Because the city is at the forefront of breast reconstruction, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and The Plastic Surgery Foundation have chosen New Orleans as the launch pad for a two-year campaign to educate women about reconstruction and access to it. The first ever Breast Reconstruction Awareness (BRA) Day USA kicks off on Oct. 17. The Center for Restorative Breast Surgery is a national sponsor.
?Since we specialize in breast reconstruction, we thought this was right up our alley,? Sullivan says.
Sullivan believes there are several reasons women are not well informed about reconstruction.
?When they?re first diagnosed with cancer, it can be overwhelming,? he says. ?They?re thinking about their mortality. They?re thinking, ?I want to get that thing out of there.??
But later, when they realize they?re going to survive, they regret not learning more about reconstruction. Although it can be done later, doing it right after the mastectomy means less scarring and often better results for the patient.
?We can save the skin, and very often we can save the nipple,? Sullivan says.
And often, they can use the patient?s own fatty tissue to fill the skin.
?It?s lifelike and lifelong lasting,? he says. ?You can get really good results.?
Sullivan feels the main reason women don?t know about their options is that doctors neglect to inform them.
Some don?t think their patients should have the two surgeries at the same time. Some believe wrongly that recurrences of breast cancer can?t be diagnosed if reconstruction is done. Some may be practicing in parts of the country where there are no plastic surgeons doing the complicated microsurgery. Some may be uninformed themselves.
?During the last decade the innovations and improvements in all types of microsurgery have been profound,? Sullivan says.
He and the other doctors at the center hope that BRA Day USA will be a start for women to get more and better information.
?We encourage everyone to educate themselves and empower themselves,? he says. ?We need to do that for any health challenges in our lives.?
For Sport, BRA Day USA will one more way to carry out her mission of helping other women going through breast cancer.
?I don?t ever say reconstruction makes a woman whole, but it makes you have a better body image and a better quality of life,? she says. ?You can look pretty damn good.?
As lagniappe for the launch of the campaign, singer and songwriter Jewel ? the national spokesperson for BRA Day USA ? will perform a benefit concert at the New Orleans Convention Center Oct. 29, during a meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.
Half the money raised will go to Breastoration, a foundation started in 2010 by Sport, Wallinga and another breast cancer survivor. The fund, which is under the umbrella of the Cancer Association of Greater New Orleans, provides educational resources about reconstruction options and helps pay secondary expenses for women who have reconstruction in southeast Louisiana.
?We provide up to $5,000 per patient,? Sport says. ?So far, we?ve helped eight women get breast reconstruction. I?m very proud of that.?
Jewel?s benefit performance on Oct. 29 at 9:30 p.m. will be at the New Orleans Convention Center. Tickets are $35 plus service charge at ticketmaster.com.
Sheila Stroup?s column will appear in The Times-Picayune Living section every Sunday when the newspaper switches to a three-day-a-week publishing schedule starting Monday. It also can be found at nola.com/living.Source: http://www.nola.com/health/index.ssf/2012/09/cancer_survivor_kim_sport_work.html
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