Florida plastic surgeon Richard Bosshardt recently wrote on the status of modern breast cancer treatments and the efforts of the medical community to minimize adverse effects through reconstruction and informed prevention.
Dr. Bosshardt writes that social recognition of the breast is an historical phenomenon and many have viewed them as symbolic of “femininity and desirability.” In light of this observation, it is easy to understand how the possibility of breast removal can be almost as frightening as the cancer itself.
Most women know how to focus on prevention and are aware of the statistics – that “about 1 in 8 women will have to face breast cancer in their lifetime.” However, many aren’t informed about the positive developments of recent years. Family ‘genetic markers’ have become excellent risk indicators, narrowing the search for a definite cause. Also, as Bosshardt says, breast implants, bras and high-fat diets have never been shown to have any correlation with increased breast cancer risk.
More reasons to be optimistic: Doctors have begun practicing “breast conservation” rather than outright removal, chemotherapy is more advanced and reconstruction has become more sophisticated than ever, with patients often looking better as an end result.
Read the original article here at the Orlando Sentinel.
