As Reclaim Your Curves reaches more people and we explain what we are about, there is a common theme among the uninitiated......a sincere disbelief that the NEED TO KNOW information for a woman facing mastectomy is simply not there when she needs it.

The quite reasonable assumption is that you will be provided with all the info you will need by your healthcare team, unfortunately for many, its simply not the case.

This radio interview is ahead of Reclaim Your Curves' first of several awareness events across Australia. These events aim to raise the awareness among women before they have their breast cancer mastectomy so they can make an informed decision about the future of their bodies.

Listen to the interview here​

For women weighing up the pros and cons of the various breast reconstruction techniques, fat grafting is a tempting choice due to the promise of a non surgical technique and results of soft breasts using your own tissue. The added bonus is the tissue is sourced from fatty areas of the body. But the jury is still out as to the longer term safety of this technique for post breast cancer women. 

​This article by Kara Skarda for Air Axpanders blog

 Although several techniques exist, many women choose implant-based reconstruction. Virtually everyone has heard of breast implants, but it’s important to recognize the differences between cosmetic breast augmentation and post-mastectomy breast reconstruction. ​

​Alison Madden and Louise Turner spoke with Scott Levi on ABC Local Radio Central Coast. Being breast cancer awareness month it was a timely time to chat about the changing options for breast reconstruction.

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Most women facing mastectomy are unable to save their natural nipples. 3D nipples tattoos can transform a breast mound into a breast and help a woman to feel complete and recovered after her breast cancer treatment and breast reconstruction procedures.

More and more the spotlight seems to be focusing on the benefits of tattooing and this TED talk captures the power of the 2 inch circle beautifully.

We have wonderful artists in Australia doing this very important work sensitively and beautifully such as Shelly Black, The Nipple Angel and Letitia Henderson at In My Skin.

Stay up to date with whats going on with AirXpanders in Australia and beyond at http://airxpandersblog.com/blog/

Having breast reconstruction after mastectomy is not the same as having a cosmetic breast augmentation. One of the very sad losses that a woman experiences after having breast reconstruction is the loss of sensation in her breasts and around the donor site in autologous procedures. This short video may help you understand what to expect.

Developed by Australian plastic surgeon, Dr Mark Lee at St John of God Hospital in Western Australia, the scarless latissimus dorsi (lat dorsi) flap is a new approach to the traditional lat dorsi breast reconstruction method that not only avoids scars to a woman’s back but also has been shown to have fewer complication rates, shorter operating time and good aesthetic outcomes.

This less invasive technique may be particularly appropriate for women undergoing preventative skin and nipple sparing double mastectomies and seeking immediate reconstruction.

From stem cells to 3D-printed nipples, breast reconstruction is a highly technical and constantly evolving field. 

In 1882 an American surgeon named William Steward Halsted popularized what’s now called the radical mastectomy. He didn’t think of the idea—one of the first written proposals for a mastectomy was published by a German surgeon in 1719. But it was Halsted who made invasive removal of breast tissue a mainstream part of cancer treatment, and his version of the surgery involved removing the entire breast, along with the nearby lymph nodes and both pectoral muscles. Removing that much tissue at that period of time, before many of the surgical techniques doctors are now familiar with were developed, often left women severely disfigured.

Published on Jul 16, 2015
A new study published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery proves more breast cancer patients can qualify for a complex nipple-saving surgery that could also save their lives. Women with large or sagging breasts who previously could not have the surgery can now qualify, the study reports. 

World’s First Needle-Free, Patient-Controlled Tissue Expansion Device for Women Undergoing Breast Reconstruction Following Mastectomy Approved in Australia. 

Australian women will benefit from this new technology which aims to minimise some common barriers to breast reconstruction such distance to services and pain associated with expansion. 

The fact that I had to amputate my boobs is hilariously ironic (re: terribly tragic) for two reasons.

For one, I had to cut them off when they were doing the only job they would ever have — breastfeeding. (I mean, other than snagging a husband — Hey-O! ) But seriously, out of all my years, I was only actually going to put my boobs to use for, like, two of them, and in the middle of their only freaking job in life, they decided to try to kill me.

Lauren Brown is the special projects editor for Quartz and this is her recent article.
I was 31 when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My gynecologist called, and I ducked into the supply closet of our Union Square office for some privacy. She said something about a New York Times article, about estrogen receptors. It was February 2014—we’d just moved offices—and I was surrounded by unpacked bins of computer wire and post-it notes. I didn’t know how to extricate myself from the mess and re-enter the world with this information. I texted my pregnant coworker, I cried in the bathroom, I cried at my desk, and then I did some work.

AUSTRALIAN women recovering from breast cancer surgery now have access to air expanders they can inflate on their own, preventing painful injections and doctor’s visits and reducing the time between their mastectomy and ­reconstruction.

The air expander is filled with carbon dioxide, instead of saline, allowing women to blow their own implants up using a handheld remote.

Singer-songwriter Jewel has penned numerous lyrics empowering women after heartbreak and loss, and now she hopes to do the same for breast cancer survivors.

Jewel's latest song, "Flower," was written to raise awareness about the importance of breast reconstruction options for breast cancer survivors.

For women who plan to have immediate breast reconstruction, traditional skin-sparing mastectomy removes the breast tissue, nipple and areola. In an optional procedure, new nipples can then be recreated on the reconstructed breasts.

Nipple-sparing mastectomy is a newer, more conservative option for women who have immediate breast reconstruction; it preserves all of the breast skin, including the nipple and areola. Many women feel that this allows them to keep a small part—and from an emotional perspective, perhaps the most important part—of their natural breasts.

COSMETIC surgeons would be banned from using the title “surgeon” without appropriate medical training under a draft law released by the NSW Labor opposition.

Anyone with a basic medical qualification can call themselves a surgeon and professional medical associations are asking for a crackdown on use of the title.

Sherry McGregor and many other brave and inspiring women seek to reclaim their curves through breast reconstruction and beautiful decorative tattoos.  read their stories here.

Canberra breast cancer survivor has scars tattooed
Breast cancer survivors reclaim their bodies with tattoos over scars

If you’ve had a mastectomy followed by reconstruction, should you continue having mammograms? The answer is generally no, but maybe, depending on your circumstances.

 Mammograms are recommended to detect early  breast cancers; since almost all breast tissue is removed during mastectomy, mammograms are no longer required. Breast reconstruction doesn’t affect breast cancer recurrence or new tumors, so it doesn’t influence whether or not you should have continuing mammograms. Your mastectomy, however, does. The American Cancer Society recommends that “women who have had total, modified radical, or radical mastectomy for breast cancer need no further routine screening mammograms of the affect side (or sides, if both breasts are removed).”

Many women diagnosed with early breast cancer have a choice between lumpectomy or mastectomy for their surgery. While a lumpectomy removes the tumor and some surrounding tissue, a mastectomy removes the entire breast. Although the chance of cancer recurrence within the breast is higher with a lumpectomy, the overall chances of survival are the same for both procedures.