Breast cancer patients who don’t want reconstruction don’t feel heard by doctors: ‘A woman should have breasts’

Distortion

More than 40% of women who choose to remain “flat,” so to speak, after a mastectomy are dissatisfied with the aesthetic result of the procedure. This does not mean that they regret their choice, but that they are not satisfied with the work of the oncology surgeon. Some even feel distorted by their doctor. Wherever their chests are, they see shrunken scars that make their entire chest appear hollow, and they see bumps, scrapes, excess “patches of skin,” and asymmetric scars. “It’s a battlefield, I’m not looking at it.” It’s hard to imagine flat women suffering this way, Bert van Drunen, president of the Dutch Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, tells Poynter. “Flat” is by definition deformed. It is just accepting whether you have breast(s) or not. But the outcome is predictable and then you have to accept that it has become that way. There are many women who are at peace with that.

Pointer, Van Drunen, talks about the desire of patients who do not have reconstruction to be operated on by a plastic surgeon, just as is the case with breast reconstruction. It is expected that you will pay more attention to aesthetics. The study shows that little attention is paid to this in the oncology surgeon’s office. The conversation in which breast cancer patients could exchange ideas with their doctor did not already exist or had to be “demanded.” More than 85% of women who chose a “flat” scar had no say in the placement or shape of the scar. While there are actually different options.