Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Reconstructive Plastic Surgery After Breast Cancer

Surviving breast cancer is a triumphant thing for many women who have successfully fought the illness; but that doesn’t mean they aren’t left with physical and emotional scars from their fight. Thirty-seven percent of women who overcome breast cancer have full mastectomies that can cause them to lose one or both of their breasts. For many women, this is a hard change to accept as they feel as though they’ve overcome the illness, but still lost a part of themselves. Fortunately, reconstructive surgery can help give women back their breasts if that’s their choice, to make them more confident with their appearance.

Reconstructive surgery following breast cancer is less common in older women over the age of 70, because many feel they just don’t need to put their bodies through any other recovery at their age. However 1 in 3 women who have recovered from breast cancer do choose surgery, and the large majority of these women are under the age of 70. They know they have long lives ahead of them and simply want to get back to where they were before overcoming breast cancer, emotionally and physically.

Reconstructive surgery can be done immediately after or a mastectomy or even years later. In many cases, breast reconstruction surgery is covered by private insurance since it’s classified differently than breast enhancement surgery for women simply looking to improve their physical features.

Decisions of how to proceed after breast cancer recovery are personal ones, and women should choose based on what they feel will help provide them with confidence and allow them to take control over their lives again.