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preserving beauty
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procedures.
OF ALL THE DISEASES
we face as women, few may concern
us more than breast cancer. Even
though 1 in 8 women will be diag-
nosed with the disease, survival rates
continue to climb. Today, there are
more than 3.1 million breast cancer
survivors in the United States.
With increased survival rates, both
patients and their breast cancer sur-
geons are advocating for new ways to
not only treat the cancer but to look as
close to their natural selves as pos-
sible after breast cancer surgery, both
clothed and unclothed.
“While the primary focus in the
treatment of a woman’s breast cancer
must remain cure, we have come to
realize the importance of her body
perception after undergoing treatment
for this disease,” says Kenzie Norris,
MD, a breast surgeon at Faith Regional
Health Services. “If we are able to not
only treat her cancer wholly but also
leave her breast with minimal defect,
or at times, even improve the look of
her breast, then we give each indi-
vidual woman our best care for her
well-being.”
Teaming up
for better results
Enter oncoplasty, a new multidis-
ciplinary field that represents the
cutting edge in breast cancer surgery.
This specialty combines both plas-
tic surgery and surgical oncology to
provide patients with better aesthetic
outcomes and improved quality of life
after surgery.
The goal of oncoplastic surgery is to
remove the breast tumor and enough
of the surrounding tissue, while at
BREAST ONCOPLASTY
the same time using the remaining
tissue to restore a natural appearance
to the breast shape. Your surgeon may
do this by realigning the nipple and
areola, and in some cases, modifying
the other breast to create symmetry.
Not only does this result in a more
natural look, but radiation follow-
ing surgery can be focused on a
much smaller area, leading to fewer
complications.
Plus, future mammograms will be
more effective because they aren’t
fooled by distortions in the breast
resulting from missing tissue.
Technology at work for you
Other advancements in breast cancer
surgery include:
Hidden scar surgery.
The idea
behind hidden scar surgery is to remove
the tumor without leaving the patient
with an unsightly scar across her
breast. Instead of making the incision
at the nearest point to the tumor, the
incision is made underneath the wom-
an’s breast. The scar is then hidden by
the natural contours of her breast.
Skin and nipple-sparing
mastectomy.
Women undergoing
a mastectomy can now have their
entire breast removed, while not only
sparing the skin but also the nipple.
Typically, rebuilding a nipple only
vaguely resembles a natural-looking
nipple, and tattooing is often required
to draw in the areola. Surgeons can
now remove all of the breast tissue
while leaving the “outer shell” (both
the skin and nipple). The shell is then
filled with tissue from other parts of
the body, resulting in a more natural-
looking breast.
“Many of my patients have de-
scribed the helpless feeling they
experienced after receiving their
diagnosis,” Dr. Norris says. “However,
when a woman is empowered with
knowledge and choices in determin-
ing her best care, she regains a sense
of control over her situation. Knowing
that, in many cases, she may not have
to lose her breast or—if choosing to
have her breast removed—that she
may still be able to keep her skin and
nipple so she still looks like herself,
brings many women more peace
when facing the difficult diagnosis of
breast cancer.”
Healing cancer,
Sources: Health Central; Touch Oncology
8 FAITH REGIONAL
HEALTH SERVICES