Intermountain hosted a free breast reconstruction awareness (BRA) event recently to educate breast cancer patients and survivors about advancements in reconstruction surgery as part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The event was for breast cancer patients, survivors, and family members to meet Intermountain surgeons and other survivors, and to learn about advancements in breast reconstruction surgery and other treatment options.
Some bras from the BRA Day bra decorating activity.
The festivities also included a bra decorating contest with more than 50 submissions.
“It was a wonderful night of celebrating our survivors, talking about options, education, and giving the public a chance to get to know the Intermountain team of caregivers,” says John Hijjawi, MD, a plastic surgeon at Intermountain Medical Center.
Dealing with a diagnosis of breast cancer is always a traumatic ordeal. Breast cancer can be even more stressful because of the visible nature of the disease. Whether it’s the prospect of temporarily losing hair from chemotherapy, or the loss of a portion or all of one or both breasts, these are often significant symbols of a woman’s self-image.
Every year almost 300,000 women face this situation. That means women in the United States currently have a one in eight chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer. Unfortunately, studies have shown that more than 75% of women don’t know all of the options available to them for reconstruction after a mastectomy or lumpectomy.
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