TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — As many of you may know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
This month, we’re raising awareness about the journey breast cancer patients go through: mastectomies, double mastectomies, chemotherapy and radiation, but doctors say the less talked about option is going flat.
For breast cancer patients and survivors, the decision to go flat has many benefits.
“There’s a lot of health benefits for the patient, there’s a lot of psychological benefits,” said Dr. Laurie Duckett, chair of plastic and reconstructive surgery at OSU Medicine. “Once you have breast flattening surgery, that’s really all the care you need for your breasts and breast cancer history. Other options we do include follow-up along with reconstruction. Future Complications may occur and re-surgery may be required.
Flattening also comes with social and personal pressures.
Unfortunately, in our society, a woman’s femininity is often determined by her body.
“There’s a huge stigma surrounding social issues related to women and their breasts,” Dr. Duckett says.
“Society judges your femininity based on your appearance,” says Diane Smith, a two-time breast cancer survivor. “Do you have long hair? Do you have breasts? Are you curvy? What do you look like? Well, I was leaving out a very important part. And it was painful. In that first impression, I’m not going to lie, I shed some tears.”
According to Dr. Duckett, this is one of the most difficult factors to overcome when talking about this option with breast cancer patients.
“What we hear from real patients is that they don’t feel well,” Dr. Duckett said.
Smith recalls the experience of having her first surgery and not being ready for a flat tire.
“I had an implant put in,” Smith said. “I was 42 years old, newly single, and for some reason I had the impression that I still needed to maintain a very feminine appearance. I needed breasts.”
But eight years later, another mass developed, requiring yet another surgery.
This time, she decided she would get the most benefit by going flat.
“I didn’t want to have a more invasive surgery that would result in more scar tissue and more time off from work and more time off from life,” Smith said. “So I decided to go flat. Now I have sunflowers and daisies on my chest. My wish garden. And I’m more feminine than anyone else.”
