A powerful story recently came out of New Hartford regarding a woman who desperately needed donors so she could afford breast reconstruction surgery. Sarah Cody of the Hartford Courant covers this in a recent article titled “New Hartford Mom Grateful To Others For Donor Tissue For Breast Reconstruction.”
Cody writes, “Amy Creaco was 29 years old with four small kids, when she discovered a lump in her breast. ‘We were on vacation, swimming, and I felt it when I was fixing my bathing suit,’ says this New Hartford mom, diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma. ‘I have always had a hormone problem my whole life, so I was not surprised, not surprised at all.’ But she was very angry that a full life, raising her beloved children, was in jeopardy. With little hesitation, Creaco decided to undergo a double mastectomy, to increase her chances of a healthy future. Six surgeries and two years later, she is doing well, considered cancer-free. Creaco is now speaking-out to raise awareness about the use of donor tissue in breast reconstruction. ‘I am very grateful,’ says Creaco, who struggled with the emotional effects of losing a body part but now, thanks to successful surgery, feels like herself again. ‘I feel very positive.’ Caitlyn Bernabucci of LifeChoice Donor Services in Bloomfield, a non-profit, federally-designated organ and tissue recovery organization that works with 23 hospitals in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut, aims to inform the public. ‘The use of donor skin in breast reconstruction is common and very helpful,’ she says, noting that breast cancer affects 1 in 8 women. ‘To me, as a woman, it’s great to know that I could potentially help another female.’ Every year, 1.5 million people receive some kind of tissue, including skin, bone, heart valves or corneas.”
Breast reconstruction surgery is very effective following mastectomy procedures. Chris Hong and Charles Carrier of 2 Minute Medicine explore this in a recent article titled “Post-mastectomy breast reconstruction may improve survival outcomes.” The authors write, “In this study, the authors therefore evaluated whether breast reconstruction following mastectomy had any effect on overall or breast cancer specific survival outcomes. No evidence of worse survival outcomes in the breast reconstruction group compared with the mastectomy alone group was appreciated. Breast reconstruction was associated with apparent survival advantage, namely at the intermediate stage of follow-up after adjustment of confounders. An important strength of this study was its large sample size with a follow-up period of over 20 years. However, its limitations included an observational study design and the potential for missed confounders to explain apparent survival advantage in the breast reconstruction group.”
If you’re looking into breast reconstruction surgery, you can trust Rex E. Moulton-Barrett, M.D. Dr. Moulton-Barrett is board certified in two distinct surgical specialties, The American Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and The American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
He performs advanced breast reconstruction surgeries in Alameda and Brentwood. With Dr. Moulton-Barrett, you can be guaranteed that your procedure will help restore both your appearance and self image.
If you think you might need breast reconstruction surgery, contact us for a consultation.