SHOW-AND-TELL FOR BREAST RECONSTRUCTION AWARENESS DAY

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According to a survey by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, women who have undergone cancer treatments aren’t willing to commit to the rigors of breast reconstructive surgery until they see the potential results. Indeed, 89% of all women considering reconstructive surgery want to be able to see in advance how their breasts will look.  After dealing with the difficulties associated with breast cancer treatments, it makes sense that women would need to have a visual idea of what their breast will look like following cosmetic surgery. Breast reconstructive surgery is no easy undertaking and women who have to gear up for the procedure need to feel like they’re going end up with a final result that’s not only acceptable but worth their while.

In response to the survey, a group of board-certified plastic surgeons have put together an event to show-and-tell women about breast reconstructive surgery as part of Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day in the United States. The event will take place in New Orleans on October 17, 2012. Essentially the event will connect breast reconstruction patients with breast cancer patients who are considering reconstruction in order to help women decide which procedure would be right for them.

The topic of breast reconstruction has been taboo until now. As women like Suzanne Somers step forward to talk about their personal successes with procedures that aren’t even available yet in the United States, reconstructive procedures are creating a bit of a buzz. By giving breast cancer patients the opportunity to chat with actual breast reconstruction patients, the women will have more information to work with than just before-and-after pictures to make the decision.

The decision to go ahead with breast reconstructive surgery is a big one and women who have the opportunity to pair up and talk with other women who have been through the ordeal represents some progress in this field of plastic surgery. Doctors may try to inform their patients about the options available to them, but the factors involved in making the decision are multitudinous and convoluted.

Right now in the United States, less than a quarter of all women know what reconstructive choices are available to them and even fewer have a sense of the outcomes that they  might expect from having those procedures. Breast reconstructive surgery must follow a particular chronological sequence and the timing of their decision can actually limit their reconstruction choices later on down the road. Further, women who have been having cancer treatments are not typically emotionally prepared to make difficult and life-changing decisions about breast reconstructive surgery.

The majority of women (70%) who are diagnosed with breast cancer are never even told about breast reconstructive surgery and their options, but the show-and-tell event on Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day will hopefully change some of those problems. Whereas in the past, women were limited by a lack of information and a two-dimensional look at how breast reconstruction helped them feel good about their self-image, women today can get a more in-depth idea of how breast reconstruction could help them. Hopefully, by making the topic less taboo, women will be able to access the resources they need to achieve results that they can be happy with for a lifetime.