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“Women can’t make an informed choice if they’re not given all of the choices,” Guthrie mentioned.
It’s essential for sufferers to really feel linked to their suppliers, mentioned Susan Brown, senior director of well being info and publications for Susan G. Komen. If somebody looks like she desires to contemplate going flat and isn’t getting assist from her surgeons, it might be time for a second opinion, Brown mentioned.
“One of the first things that stood out [about the study] was how important information is to patients before they try to make a decision or before they’re faced with a decision,” Brown mentioned. “The second is how important physician support is for acknowledging, understanding and really respecting a patient’s wishes so that the provider or the patient can partner in making decisions because it looks like when that happens, then patients are more satisfied with the decision that they’ve ultimately made.”
Mastectomies have been rising lately for a wide range of causes, Brown mentioned. Not having reconstruction is not new, but it surely is not all the time one thing that is been mentioned as brazenly, she mentioned.
Patients who’re exploring their choices can name the 1-877-Go-Komen helpline, she steered.
“Patients who are really exploring this as an option and want to just bounce some ideas off of someone and get some support for what they’re thinking about and to get a little support for getting that second opinion, they could certainly reach out to our Komen breast cancer helpline for that kind of information,” Brown mentioned.
The examine was printed on-line lately within the Annals of Surgical Oncology. Attai is now working with surgeons and affected person advocates to develop a brand new survey instrument.
“And then we have several directions to go, one of which is applying this to a broader patient population,” Attai mentioned. “The other is looking at our surgical education, making sure that our general surgeons and those who are doing a breast surgical oncology fellowship, that they’re getting trained in flat closure.”
More info
The American Cancer Society has extra on options to breast reconstruction.
SOURCES: Deanna Attai, MD, affiliate medical professor, surgical procedure, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles; Susan Brown, MS, RN, senior director, well being info and publications, Susan G. Komen, Dallas; Catherine Guthrie, most cancers survivor, Somerville, Mass.; Annals of Surgical Oncology, Jan. 3, 2021, on-line
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