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Breast Cancer Awareness
 As
board-certified plastic surgeons in Palm Harbor we regularly work with breast
cancer survivors, we strongly urge support of October as National Breast Cancer
Awareness Month by reminding the women you love to schedule regular cancer
screenings.
Early detection through
self-examination and medical screening are key prevention methods. For the
estimated 175,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer each year, advances in
plastic surgery and break-through legislation have helped make such devastating
news easier to bear.
Improvements in post-surgical therapies, including several breast
reconstruction options, are helping allay the fear of disfigurement from
mastectomy. Typically, plastic surgeons make recommendations based upon
the patient's age, health, anatomy, tissues and goals. The most common
procedures include skin expansion followed by the use of implants, or flap
reconstruction.
Equally important to breast cancer survivors is the 1998 passage of the
Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act (WHCRA) that mandates insurance coverage
for breast reconstruction following mastectomy. Unfortunately, the law
does not apply to women in the Medicare or Medicaid programs.
Board-certified plastic surgeons, such as our surgeons, know first-hand how
breast reconstruction improves a survivor's self-esteem and confidence after a
mastectomy.
The American Society of Plastic surgeons (ASPS) was a major supporter of the
WHCRA, and is proud to have been part of the effort to stop insurance denials
for the surgery. Now almost every women who loses her breast to cancer can
have it rebuilt through reconstructive surgery. Discussion about this can
start immediately after diagnosis. Breast reconstruction following
mastectomy increased 166 percent between 1992 and 2000, with 78,832 procedures
performed in 2000.
My fellow members of ASPS and I are well aware of the devastating effects of
breast cancer. We support all women in their fight against the disease.
For all breast cancer patient, we suggest the following: talk to a board
certified plastic surgeon regarding reconstruction options, and discuss the
pros, cons and realistic expectations of those options. For more
information, contact this office or go to
ASPS.
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