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>>> DR. JAY K. HARNESS:One of the subjects that is sort of a favorite of mine is the
issue of “Reconstruction after mastectomy”. As I’ve shared with you on other videos,
more and more women are choosing mastectomy for a variety of reasons and I am not gonna
repeat it here right now. My goal is always the emotional reconstruction of women if they
choose mastectomy or lumpectomy for that matter, and I am always disturbed when I am reviewing
articles off of the internet or news releases, when I see a story like this that many women
do not undergo breast reconstruction after mastectomy. This is a report that comes from
the 2011 “San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium,” and this particular report comes from the
“Columbia University Medical Center” in New York City, and it ends up that only about
23% of women undergoing mastectomy from this very large review of data over nearly a 10-year
period, only about 23% of women undergo immediate reconstruction as part of their mastectomy
procedure but then if they do not undergo immediate reconstruction or they are undergoing
reconstruction at all and sort of going on with the study, it ends up that women who
have commercial insurance actually have a higher probability of undergoing reconstruction
after mastectomy, up to around 55% in some of the most recent data, and then if you look
at women who are younger than age 50, fortunately the number is up to about 60%. So there are
lots of reasons why women are not choosing reconstruction or the real question to my
mind is “Are they being offered it?” Women need to know that Federal Legislation mandates
full treatment of breast cancer, which includes reconstruction if in fact you choose a mastectomy.
It also includes taking care of the other breast so that you have equal symmetry. The
odds that someone is going to have reconstruction increase if you are at a teaching hospital,
if you are in a larger urban hospital setting or situations where you are dealing with surgeons
and teams of people who do lots of breast cancer work and, particularly, mastectomies.
So my plea to you is, “If you are considering a mastectomy, that’s what you chosen to
do or you need to do, please be talking with your surgeon and your multidisciplinary team
about reconstruction.” “You deserve it!” Hi, I am Dr. Jay Harness and I want to share
with you important information that I believe that every newly diagnosed patient with breast
cancer needs to know.
Susan Denver: I am a breast cancer survivor.
Katherine Stockton: I am a breast cancer survivor.
Coree: I am a breast cancer survivor.
Susan Denver: And I want every woman to know…
Katherine Stockton: …about personalized breast cancer treatment…
Susan Denver: …and the genomic test.
Coree: A test that helps guide a woman and her doctor…
Katherine Stockton: …to the best treatment options for her.
Susan Denver: Pass it on!