Breast Preservation Foundation

Skin sparing mastectomy procedures under-utilized in the U.S.

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:03:17 +0000

Oncological outcome and patient satisfaction with skin-sparing mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction

admin — Wed, 12 May 2010 23:02:49 +0000

BPF Receives $10K Grant from Comerica Bank

agnes — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:45:56 +0000

BREAST PRESERVATION FOUNDATION RECEIVES $10,000 GRANT FROM COMERICA BANK TO EDUCATE WOMEN ABOUT SKIN-SPARING MASTECTOMY

BEVERLY HILLS, CA, May 12, 2010 – The Breast Preservation Foundation (BPF) has received a $10,000 grant from Comerica Bank, presented during the recent grand opening ceremony of its new Beverly Hills Banking Center. Beverly Hills Mayor Jimmy Delshad, City Councilman Willie Brien, M.D., Chamber of Commerce members and community leaders attended the event and recognized the non-profit organization for its dedicated work in educating women about the advantages of skin-sparing mastectomy over traditional mastectomy for breast cancer patients.

“The Breast Preservation Foundation is working hard to lessen suffering and fear associated with breast cancer surgery by informing women and their doctors about less disfiguring options like skin-sparing mastectomy,” said Joel A. Aronowitz, M.D., BPF president and founder and USC clinical professor of plastic surgery.

“We value the support and commitment of our wonderful friends at Comerica Bank, their deep sense of civic responsibility and charity makes me confident that together we can significantly improve the health and well being of our community,” he added.

The grant will support the BPF’s educational outreach programs that work toward ultimately establishing a national center to train surgeons to perform the skin-sparing mastectomy procedure. The BPF’s work also involves educating lawmakers about the issue so that new health care legislation encourages the use of less disfiguring breast cancer surgery like skin-sparing mastectomy, recognizing that a natural breast appearance is a valid measure of quality of care.

About the Breast Preservation Foundation
The BPF’s mission is to educate women about skin-sparing mastectomies and its advantages for an overall better cosmetic result. Its goal is to inform and empower women to ask more questions before having a potentially disfiguring biopsy, lumpectomy and traditional mastectomy. BPF urges women to insist their breast surgeon recognize the importance of preserving the breast which can improve their quality of life after receiving a breast cancer diagnosis.

To sign up to receive more information about skin-sparing mastectomies, breast cancer survival or to make a donation to the Breast Preservation Foundation, please visit www.BreastPreservation.org.

# # #

Media contact:

Agnes Huff, PhD or Anna Jerden
Agnes Huff Communications Group
310.641.2525
ahuff@ahuffgroup.com
ajerden@ahuffgroup.com

From left: Sagra Cabrera, Senior Vice President, Retail Bank, Betty Rengifo Tucker, Executive Vice President, Retail Bank, Jimmy Delshad, Mayor of Beverly Hills, Fiona Chalom, PhD, Executive Director, Joel A. Aronowitz, M.D., Breast Preservation Foundation, Debra Bradford, Assistant Vice President, Banking Center Manager, Beverly Hills Branch, Morgan Rector, President of the Entertainment Group for Comerica Bank, Dennis Gilkerson, Senior Vice President, Private Banking, Scott Rosser, Vice President, Private Banking and William W. Brien, MD, Beverly Hills City Councilmember

Breast Preservation Foundation Appoints Chairman of the Board

agnes — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:29:57 +0000

LOS ANGELES, Mar. 19, 2010 — Long-time Beverly Hills resident and Cedars-Sinai plastic surgeon Joel A. Aronowitz, M.D., hosted a private reception and dinner for friends and supporters of the Breast Preservation Foundation (BPF) to announce the appointment of petroleum businessman Paul A. Morabito as the Foundation’s Chairman of the Board.

Dr. Aronowitz and his wife, BPF Executive Director Fiona Chalom, Ph.D., welcomed esteemed guests for an elegant dinner at their Beverly Hills home, the famous ‘Bugsy Siegel house.’ Guests and supporters included Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, U.S. Congressman Eric Cantor, his wife Diana F. Cantor, Congressman Dean Heller, Ken Spiker, and executives from Galpin Ford and Comerica Bank.

Mr. Morabito, a resident of Reno, Nevada, was appointed Chairman of the California State Coastal Conservancy by Governor Gray Davis, and served from 2001 to 2005; the Senior Policy Advisor to the LA County Sheriff’s Department from 1999 to 2005; and has served since 2007 as an appointee of Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons on the board of the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT).

BPF Founder Dr. Aronowitz said, “I am thrilled that Paul has chosen to bring his formidable organizational skills and indefatigable energy to improve the plight of women stricken with breast cancer through the BPF.”

“On behalf of the BPF, I am honored by the outpouring of support we have received from the community, breast cancer advocacy organizations and our friends in government,” added Dr. Fiona Chalom.

About Breast Preservation Foundation

The BPF’s mission is to educate women about skin-sparing mastectomies and its advantages over traditional mastectomy for a better cosmetic result. Its goal is to inform and empower women to ask more questions before having a potentially disfiguring biopsy, lumpectomy and traditional mastectomy. BPF urges women to insist their breast surgeon recognize the importance of preserving the breast, which can improve their quality of life after receiving a breast cancer diagnosis.

Through its education mission and outreach activities, BPF is working toward establishing a center to train doctors to perform the skin sparing mastectomy surgery and hopes to introduce a bill requiring insurance coverage for women to receive the skin sparing procedure as well as reconstructive breast surgery.

For more information about skin sparing mastectomies, breast cancer survival and the Breast Preservation Foundation, please visit www.BreastPreservation.org.

# # #

Media contact:

Agnes Huff, PhD or Anna Jerden
Agnes Huff Communications Group
310.641.2525
ahuff@ahuffgroup.com
ajerden@ahuffgroup.com

Medical Staff Pulse, “Physician News”

admin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:36:44 +0000

Beverly Hills Courier Letter to the Editor by Dr. Joel Aronowitz

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:25:16 +0000

EmpowHer.com, Skin Sparing Mastectomy (SSM)

agnes — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:14:55 +0000

Breast cancer strikes fear in women. Not only is there concern of loss of life but for women, the loss of one’s breast affects their view of being complete. Depending on what type of cancer has been diagnosed and how much it has spread to surrounding tissue different surgeries will be recommended by a breast surgeon. In certain cases, women may be candidates for skin sparing mastectomy which can greatly assist in an improved appearance of their breast reconstruction.

What is Skin-Sparing Mastectomy?

During a simple or total mastectomy, the breast surgeon removes the entire breast and skin but leaves the lymph nodes and muscle tissue intact under the breast. With skin sparing mastectomy, the surgeon removes the cancerous breast tissue through a keyhole incision made around the nipple and areola. The nipple and areola are removed.
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The surrounding skin remains mostly intact creating a pocket that will allow reconstruction to take place inside. Breast reconstruction takes place either by using an artificial breast implant or by inserting tissue and muscle located close by that is nourished by its own blood supply for healing.

Candidates for Skin-Sparing Mastectomy are:

1. If breast cancer has not spread into the surrounding skin.
2. If radiation treatments have not damaged skin on the breast.
3. If in the early stages of breast cancer.
4. If a lumpectomy is suggested, can be an alternative
5. For those who have a high risk of breast cancer and want preventive mastectomies performed, i.e. test positive for Brca gene changes, strong family history or already had cancer removed in the other breast.
6. If the specific type of breast cancer is non invasive and still only in the cells it began.

Reconstruction of the breast can be done either at the same time as the mastectomy surgery or can be done later as long as the skin is free of cancer involvement. However, it is most important for the skin sparing mastectomies to be performed by surgeons experienced with this technique and should be discussed with your doctor beforehand.

Skin sparing mastectomies are not believed to increase the risk of cancer recurrence though many doctors are still slow to endorse this technique. At University of Texas at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1,810 patients with primary breast cancer were followed from January 2000 to December 2005 to compare the incidence of local recurrence, regional reoccurrence or systemic reoccurrence of their cancer.

Sixty percent of the patients had standard mastectomies and 40 percent had skin sparing ones. More of the standard mastectomy patients had radiation and lymph node involvement. After statistically correcting for the stage of the tumors found, the researchers did not find a significant difference in the disease free survival rates of the two groups.
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Women who are faced with the stress of learning they have cancer and are wondering how they will physically and emotionally put their lives back together need to obtain as much information they can. Not all breast cancer treatment will result in a mastectomy but if that is what the doctors feel is best, the breast preservation foundation has created a list of questions to ask the doctors involved in your care. Click on: www.breastpreservationfoundation.org/what-to-ask-your-surgeon

sources:
www.breastpreservationfoundation.org/faqs/
www.facs.org/surgerynews/0409onlineonly.pdf

Local-regional and distant recurrence rates after standard versus skin-sparing mastectomy
Min Yi1, Funda Meric-Bernstam1, Steven J Kronowitz2, Khazi M Nayeemuddin1, Barry W. Feig1, Rosa F. Hwang1,W. Fraser Symmans 3, Merrick I. Ross 1, Anthony Lucci1, Frederick C Ames 1, Isabelle Bedrosian1, Eva Singletary1, Henry M. Kuerer 1, Kelly K. Hunt 1. Departments of Surgical Oncology, 2Plastic Surgery, and 3Pathology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center accessed at
www.posters2view.com/sabcs08/viewp.php?nu=4138

Michele is an R.N. freelance writer with a special interest in woman’s healthcare and quality of care issues. Other articles by Michele can be read at http://www.helium.com/users/487540/show_articles

Pain Can Persist for Years After Breast Cancer Surgery

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:58:22 +0000

Almost half of all patients are affected by postoperative pain, study finds.

A recent Danish study suggests that long-term postoperative pain following breast cancer surgery is a pervasive problem affecting nearly half of breast cancer survivors. The most frequently affected areas were the breast region (86%), axilla (63%), arm (57%), and side of the body (56%).

From January to April 2008, questionnaires were completed by 3,253 women 18-70 years who had undergone surgery for unilateral primary breast cancer in Denmark between January 2005 and December 2006. Of the 47% reporting pain (n=1,543), 13% had severe pain, defined as a score of 8-10 on the 10-point rating scale. Of these women, 77% experienced pain daily. Another 39% reported moderate pain (scores of 4-7), 48% reported light pain (scores of 1-3), and 1% did not rate their pain.

Younger women (odds ratio [OR], 3.62 for ages 18 to 39 vs 60 to 69; P<0.001) and those who had axillary lymph node dissection (OR, 1.77 vs sentinel lymph node dissection; P<0.001) were significantly more likely to report pain. Adjuvant radiotherapy was also a predictor of persistent pain (breast tissue radiotherapy: OR, 1.50 vs locoregional radiotherapy + breast tissue/anterior thoracic radiotherapy: OR, 1.35; P=0.03).

In addition, 58% of women (n=1,882) reported sensory disturbances or discomfort. The most commonly affected areas were the axilla (66%), arm (52%), breast area (43%), and side of the body (30%). Younger women were at greater risk for sensory disturbances than older women (OR, 5.00 to 6.06, for breast-conserving surgery or mastectomy, respectively; both P<0.001), as were those who had axillary lymph node dissection (OR, 4.97 vs sentinel lymph node dissection; P<0.001). Also, 65% of women reporting sensory disturbances also reported pain vs 23% reporting pain without sensory disturbances, indicating that sensory disturbances and nerve injury were related to an increased risk of chronic pain (P<0.001).

The authors note that further studies of more diverse populations are needed; until then, approaches such as intraoperative, localized radiotherapy and nerve-sparing techniques during surgery may reduce the risk of developing chronic postoperative pain.

HealthRadio’s Dr. Derek DaSilva Interviews Dr. Joel Aronowitz [Audio]

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:57:40 +0000

Dr. A Interview with Derek DaSilva on HealthRadio.net

Improving Cosmetic Outcomes for Breast Cancer Patients [Video]

admin — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:25:52 +0000