http://www.myselftogetheragain.org/ This Breast Reconstruction Info video series is brought to you by Myself Together Again. Visit our website at www.myselftogetheragain.org for more info.
When we last sent out our eNews we were so excited to announce our new sponsorship given to us by Allergan. What I have come to appreciate most about Allergan, the breast implant manufacturing company that produces NATRELLE® products, is its concern with patients getting a quality and satisfying experience when first visiting with the plastic surgeon. What I have learned both first hand as a patient, and in doing this work, is that most women considering mastectomy surgery are not thinking immediately about reconstruction. Women facing cancer want to get rid of the cancer itself making that goal a number one priority for doctors and patients alike. I was immediately drawn to Allergan's commitment to patient education and advocacy. I commend Allergan for helping patients know the right questions to ask their plastic surgeon to get the education and information they need.
To learn more about the NATRELLE® line of expanders, implants, and overall outcome please visit: http://www.natrelle.com.
Please visit and "like" M:TA's new Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.
Now, for our big announcement:
We have found a new woman who will be featured in our 2nd booklet. Before we introduce you to Sherri via video I want to take a moment and share why we chose her after doing a national search for the right person. First, let me start off by saying that Sherri does NOT have cancer. In her words, she would tell you that she does not have cancer YET. Also, Sherri does not have the BRAC 1 or 2 mutation; however, four maternal relatives were all diagnosed with cancer, most pre-menopausal with the exception being Sherri's mother who was diagnosed in her early 50's. When Sherri met with genetic counselors and received the results that she was not BRAC 1 or 2, the counselors shared with her that there is sure to be something going on in her family's DNA, it simply just has not been identified yet as a marker. The statistics that the counselors gave Sherri on the likelihood that she would develop breast or ovarian cancer at some point in her life were startling. Sherri had been considering a prophylactic mastectomy for some time now, but she will share with you in her own words why 2011 was going to be the year she took control of her own destiny.
We are so proud to welcome Sherri to the M:TA Team and we are excited to tell you that we will be documenting through photos and videos the process of her double prophylactic mastectomies and immediate reconstruction. We have two main goals we want to accomplish by sharing Sherri's story. Our first goal is that we want our audience and those who have looked to M:TA for real process pictures of reconstruction to see how tissue expander reconstruction looks today. The process has a much different look than when we photographed my reconstruction six years ago. We will bring to our readers a new perspective on reconstruction from doctors and a patient's true, firsthand account of the journey, from start to finish. Our second goal explains why we chose Sherri as our subject. We receive many emails from women around the world who look to M:TA not just as a cancer resource, but as a resource that educates women through pictures about the transformation that our bodies undergo during reconstruction. Many women have written to us feeling guilty that they do not have cancer, but like Sherri they need our support in understanding all that goes into mastectomy and reconstruction. Prophylactic mastectomies are more common today for many reasons that we will focus on in our booklet; in fact, there is an entire website dedicated to this group of women who call themselves "previvors". In choosing Sherri, we want to bring this issue to the forefront of our ongoing efforts and discussions and continue to be a valuable and obtainable educational resource for any woman considering mastectomy followed by immediate reconstruction.
For me personally, it was a huge decision to go with Sherri as opposed to a woman who is facing reconstruction along with a cancer diagnosis. But our hope is that as our public charity grows, we will continue to get more and more sponsors who allow us to show many different stories of reconstruction. I am a part of the breast cancer sisterhood, whether I like it or not, and Sherri and I have both come to terms with the fact that while we shared similar surgeries, we have very different stories and outcomes. I am humbled that Sherri is willing to share her story through photographs and video for those women who, like her, don't yet have the disease, but live daily with the anxiety of getting it. For more information about "previvors" visit: previve.com
Wishing everyone well and please take a moment to watch Sherri's video below,
~Debbie
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Breast Reconstruction after Mastectomy Volume 2by drhandelinfo419,570 views
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