Immediate Breast Reconstruction Preferred By Many
Going through cancer treatment can be a challenging time in a woman’s life, but immediate breast reconstruction can help. There are several parts of this journey back to health that are at play. Number one, a woman’s physical wellbeing is at stake. But in addition to her physical health, her emotional state is impacted. The medical community is more aware than ever of the interconnectedness of the body and the mind.
Physical Health
Immediate breast reconstruction can be advantageous physically because it requires fewer surgeries. Instead of waiting, having rebuilding procedures performed simultaneously with a mastectomy means everything is done at once. This means less exposure to anesthesia, less trauma of going into surgery, and a shorter recovery time. Once the operation is completed, the patient can get back to living a normal life.
Emotional Health
Having cancer can shake up a woman’s emotional wellbeing. Most people never think that they will be the ones to get sick. Many of these patients have lived what they considered to be a healthy lifestyle. When they discover a lump, find out that their mammogram shows a malignancy, or have a biopsy that reveals carcinoma, they may be rattled to the core. To be ill is bad enough; to lose one’s bosom can be a devastating blow to self esteem. If immediate breast reconstruction can be performed, this can greatly reduce the emotional trauma. Patients can wake up in the recovery room with natural looking mounds made from their own tissue.
Mind/Body Connection
Doctors today are aware of the strong connection between the human mind and body. If a person is calm and happy, her body reacts by sleeping well, having optimum immune functioning, and healing more quickly. On the flip side, if a patient is anxious, depressed, and miserable, her body will react by creating stress hormones, wanting to fight or flee, having impaired immune response, and more. By having immediate breast reconstruction performed, a patient can feel happier about her appearance and boost her healing response. Because she only had to go through the lone surgery, she will be able to recover faster which will allow her to remain cheerful and hopeful.
Being diagnosed with cancer can be a scary and life altering situation. Thankfully, medical researchers and surgeons have made amazing progress in treating the disease and rebuilding the tissue lost to mastectomy. Immediate breast reconstruction is beneficial physically and emotionally to patients. Shorter recovery time and not having to face even one day without a feminine shape can be just the boon a patient needs to get through the challenge and move to the next chapter of life.