October – Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Updated 3/2017-- photos and all links (except for those to my own posts) removed as many are no longer active and it was easier than checking each one.

This post from last October, Breast Cancer Information, is still very relevant, so I am reposting it unchanged.  However, at the end I have added some additional references to other posts by myself and others.

As a plastic surgeon, I don't treat breast cancer. So I'm going to give you some nice references. These first five are blog posts from Dr. Sid Schwab, Surgeonsblog. They are nice discussions of breast cancer form the basics to the treatment choices.
Breast Cancer: Some Basics
Breast Cancer: Scary Tales
Breast Cancer Women
Breast Cancer, Prologue
The Old Man and the C
This next one is a blog post from Buckeye Surgeon. It is the handout he gives to his new breast cancer patients to aid in his discussions with them. It, also, gives them something for later, if they are overwhelmed with information. Breast Cancer Handout
This blog post from The Cheerful Oncologist is to remind you that as a patient, and especially as a cancer patient, you have rights/freedoms. The Four Freedoms of Cancer Patients.
I also want to remind you women that some of the breast changes in our lifetime are benign (well maybe you don't consider sagging benign, but it won't kill you). So review these, please: Breast Changes During Your Lifetime That Are Not Cancer--National Cancer Institute.
The National Cancer Institute has a wealth of information at their site on the range of treatment--surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, biological therapy, and treatment choices by stage of disease. Breast Cancer Treatment
Other Resources
Breast Cancer, Virtual Anatomy
Detailed Guide: Breast Cancer--American Cancer Society
Fine Needle Biopsy--Virtual Cancer Center
Axillary Dissection--Encyclopedia of Surgery
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy: Questions and Answers--National Cancer Institute
BreastCancer.org--Reconstruction Options
Radiation Therapy--RadiologyInfo
John Hopkin's Breast Center--online library
The Sister Study

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Additional Referenced Posts
Breast Reconstruction—Part I (October 2007)
Breast Reconstruction – Part II (October 2007)
Breast Cancer Reconstruction Webcast  (April 2008)
Silicone Implants and Health Issues (March 2008)

However, over the past 20 years, a robust body of literature examining breast cancer-related risks among breast implant patients has been published. This was reviewed by Dr Deapen. Here are the conclusions: ………………

Dr Oliver, Plastic Surgery 101, has a very nice post (July 2008) on "What's Oncoplastic Surgery?"

This is conceptually just lumpectomy or mastectomy done better. The concept uses rotating breast tissue to fill defects at the time of lumpectomy or larger "quadrantectomy" procedures. These are maneuvers we use with breast reduction and mastopexy procedures adapted to some of the cancer surgery procedures.