Above: Dr. Dennis Hammond, a Grand Rapids, MI plastic surgeon, uses markings like these to lay out his breast reconstruction plan, including the size of implants to be used and their placement; and the estimated amount of fat he expects to transfer to add shape and support in breast implant reconstruction.
Here’s a quick link to our Kickstarter campaign to raise $18,000 for our upcoming book. We are more than 60% there. http://kck.st/1yKVvKO
Markings like these often are made by plastic surgeons in pre-opt appointments to indicate their surgery plan. This woman, who has experienced continued problems three years after a double mastectomy with silicone implant reconstruction, recently underwent an implant exchange procedure. Her doctor told her that her implants had flipped upside down, causing them to get painful, rock-hard and wrinkled. We need your help to finish this book; you can contribute with this quick link:
DETROIT JOURNALISTS BEGIN FUND-RAISING CAMPAIGN FOR UNIQUE BOOK ON BREAST CANCER SURGERY AND RECONSTRUCTION CHOICES
JAN. 13 _ Two Detroit journalists, Patricia Anstett and Kathleen Galligan, are launching an online fundraising campaign today to raise $18,000 for their upcoming national book on breast cancer surgery and reconstruction.
The book, told and photographed through the lives of women who have faced these decisions, is scheduled for publication this year by Rowman & Littlefield.
Galligan is a two-time Emmy-award winning Detroit Free Press photographer diagnosed with breast cancer six months after she started working on the project. “If it can happen to me, it can happen to anybody,” Galligan said. “This book is about choices.
A quarter-million American women, some very young, have these surgeries every year for breast cancer, often without much information or consideration. Many women say, ‘I wish I would have known’,” said Anstett, who has covered breast cancer extensively over a long newspaper career. “We hope our book gives women the information and insights they need. But we need your help.”
Donations to the month-long Kickstarter campaign will pay for reporting and photography across the country, including visits to top breast reconstruction centers.
For further information or to make a donation, go to http://bcsurgerystories.com.
Emmy Pontz, of Lansing, MI, was 24 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent chemotherapy before her mastectomy and reconstruction. Pontz, 26, just announced she is engaged and expecting a baby. We will tell her story and those of other young survivors in a chapter in our upcoming book.
NBC chief environmental affairs correspondent Anne Thompson greeted Sarah Erzen and her daughter, Katey, at the recent 10th annual benefit for two Henry Ford Health System breast cancer programs. Both Erzen, of Holt, MI, and Thompson were diagnosed with advanced stage three breast cancer tumors. Thompson encouraged women facing a breast cancer diagnosis to explore their options carefully, and to understand there’s no rush for reconstruction. Thompson underwent lumpectomy surgery, radiation and chemotherapy after her 2006 diagnosis. She saw no need for reconstruction or revision surgery to have two matching breasts. Thompson returned to work quickly after a week of crying and feeling terrified. She wore wigs and fake eye lashes to cover up what chemotherapy had taken. “I needed the work; I needed the distraction” during breast cancer treatment, she said, explaining why she returned to work quickly. The event at Detroit’s Ford Field was sponsored by the Detroit Lions.
Sara Erzen was 35 and in the second trimester of pregnancy when she found a lump in her breast. She underwent chemotherapy during the second trimester of her pregnancy and gave birth to a healthy baby girl in March. Her story will be told in our upcoming book. Here, with her oldest daughter, Katey Skerratt, 11, Erzen promoted breast cancer awareness at the 10th annual Henry Ford Health System luncheon to benefit the Josephine Ford Cancer Institute and the Francee & Benson Ford Jr. Breast Care and Wellness Center at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital. The event funds breast cancer technology improvements and other services at the two centers.
We’re happy to report that Kathleen Galligan’s sentinel lymph node biopsy came back clean. Great news that this cancer was found before it spread outside the breast. She will, however, return for a second surgery at the end of the month because the tissue they removed still had cancer in its margins. After that, radiation. In all, it looks like quite a treatable cancer. Kathleen is the same upbeat, positive radiant woman she always has been. The support from her family and friends and the Detroit Free Press features department meal train orchestrated by Mark Stryker have been especially appreciated.
Kathleen Galligan wanted to see the size of the needle to be used to mark her cancer before her surgery at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital. All went well and we’re hoping for good news next week.
