For about one in eight women in the US that develop invasive breast cancer over the course of their lifetime such as Erika Copeland making decisions about treatment can be scary. Fortunately Erika is one of more than 3.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.
Erika says the day she got the breast cancer diagnosis everything stopped. As far as short-term fears, were how quickly can I get this cancer out of her body; how far it can progress; what stage she was in. She said long-term fears were about how here appearance would be physically. A few different treatment plans were offered to her. She said the treatment plan she decided to go with was a double mastectomy along with breast reconstructive surgery.
The quality of life benefits of breast reconstruction are widely observed yet less than half of all the women who require a mastectomy are currently offered breast reconstruction and only 23% of the women understand the wide range of options available to them.
Breast reconstruction is always your right after a mastectomy and you may or may not choose to do breast reconstruction but you deserve to know your options says Ashley N. Amalfi, MD - Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, Quatela Center for Plastic Surgery.
Talk to your coordinated care team about the breast reconstruction options available to you as early into your cancer journey as possible because timing of treatment plans plays a critical role in your reconstruction options.
Dr. Amalfi says Erika has had some newer techniques in her reconstruction. Dr. Amafi says Erika has a pre-pectoral implant which is an implant placed on top of the muscle. Mentor is the number one global brand in breast prosthetics. Dr. Amalfi says Mentor always has an option for her.
Erika says she feels her life has returned back to normal; how it was before her diagnosis. She says she feels more comfortable in her clothing; more comfortable at work and she feels more confident again.
