Fall has arrived and I know this to be true because the ambient temperature outside this morning as I stepped out to pick up the paper from my drive was cooler than the temperature indoor. The season's change reminded me that I needed to change my news online as well.

Fall is routinely a time when we start seeing facial cosmetic surgeries take center stage in our practice and through the end of the year we will likely be treating many for the sun damage changes they incurred while enjoying our coastal weather this summer. But, as I began thinking of what might be appropriate for the fall “office news” I was impressed by the need to write about breast cancer awareness.  October ushers in the medical communities yearly nationwide emphasis on breast cancer awareness.  Hospitals are likely to again this year offer free screening exams and reduced pricing on mammograms for the month. Television networks will have public service announcements using actors from our favorite sitcoms to stress the need for screening.  Even the manliest of football players will don pink shoes for the Sundays of October to show their support for breast cancer awareness.  I too wanted to join in encouraging all to be appropriately screened. 

Now, I do this in part because I have such a vested interest in women’s health. Over 80% of my practice pertains to women’s health issues.  Women make up 90% of my cosmetic practice and breast care represents a full 35-40% of what I do day in and day out. My desire for all my patients is a healthy tomorrow. With this said, I would like to stress the need of screening for all those over 40 years of age.  Screening means a yearly breast exam with your physician and mammogram studies to look for cancer development.  Screening in this manner is the best way to detect cancer change in the breast in its earliest and treatable stages.  See, breast cancer is now the second most common cancer amongst women outpaced only by skin cancer.  Almost 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime and early detection is the best means to increase survivability in a disease that claims almost 40,000 lives in America yearly.  Some might ask, “what occurs on a breast cancer exam”?  Well, yearly you should be seen for a physical exam where your physician will examine your breast. He/she will feel within the breast tissue for areas of irregularity and examine as well the axilla (armpit) for any swollen lymph nodes.  The examination will likely also contain some discussion about changes you might have noticed in your breasts like lumps you may have felt or drainage from the nipples you might have experienced..  They will also ask questions about any family history of breast disease.  The exam will be followed by the testing through mammography and or sonography of your breast tissue to look for any radiographic changes.  A negative physical exam and negative mammogram will mean you are good for the year unless you at home detect changes which you should always bring to your doctor's attention.

What if the exam or mammogram isn’t normal or changes are found?  Then further studies might be indicated or re-examination might be recommended with a follow –up mammogram as early as 3 months from your prior visit.  And, if because of findings, a biopsy is recommended, understand that many biopsies turn out to be benign or o.k.  If a cancer diagnoses is made, further surgery and possible therapies will be recommended to treat your disease and today with early detection and advances in therapies to target specific markers on breast cancer we are making strides toward winning the war in breast cancer care, but early detection is key.

“What will I look like after breast cancer surgery”?  This is a question I commonly hear from my cancer patients. I want to assure you that with early detection , nipple sparing mastectomies, and staged reconstructions with the use of implants and or natural tissue transfers, acellular grafting materials, fat transfers, tattooing amongst other state of the art reconstruction techniques, we are able to rebuild normal or near normal appearing breasts without compromising treatment.  So don’t put off your screening and as always if you have questions give us a call.