Portfolio at NYU

Posted 03.24.04
[MAMM Magazine] When Reconstruction's An Option
Tales of coping and practical information from A to Z

By Jasmin Chua

Reconstructing Aphrodite
Photographs by Terry Lorant
Verve Editions, 2003

For any woman threatened with the loss of one or both of her breasts, more often than not, it's her femininity and sexuality that is at stake. "[The breasts are] also a symbol representing motherhood...fertility," says plastic surgeon Loren Eskenazi, MD, in the introduction to Reconstructing Aphrodite. Dr. Eskenazi and her associate Katherine Young, MD, performed the reconstructive surgeries on the 21 women boldly baring their breasts in this pictorial collection. Ranging in ages from 27 to 78, each of these women has a unique take on her cancer -there's Laurie, who had a mastectomy as a pre-emptive strike against her inherited BRCA 2 gene marker, and there's Diane, who frequently dined topless with her husband after her reconstruction. Miae struggled with her Asian sensibilities and Kara still thinks she's a work in progress. This is more of a coffee table book than a guide to reconstruction procedures and is intended more to inspire than to inform. The women's voices and stories, captured by writer Helga Hayes, nevertheless carry through the pages of Terry Lorant's artistically-shot black and white photographs.

The Breast Reconstruction Guidebook: Issues and Answers from Research to Recovery
By Kathy Steligo
Carlo Press, 2003

A comprehensive guide to the ins and outs of breast reconstruction when mastectomy is unavoidable, The Breast Reconstruction Guidebook walks the reader through the entire decision-making process step-by-step, from sorting through options and dealing with the insurance company to planning for post-operative recovery. Author Kathy Steligo, who went through reconstructive surgery after her own mastectomy, also provides alternatives to reconstruction in a chapter about other post-mastectomy options such as prostheses. While Steligo spoke to medical professionals and more than 400 women who have had reconstruction, it still feels like one woman's point of view, objective though it is. For women considering surgery but don't know the difference between a TRAM and a DIEP, Steligo shows them how to shop for Dr. Right, navigate the quagmire of reconstructive procedures and even address the Question of Size. Complete with photographs and illustrations, the Guidebook makes it a little less overwhelming to cope with life after mastectomy.

Show Me
By the Breast Cancer Support Group, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, 2001

Another "show and tell" photo collection of post-lumpectomy, mastectomy and breast reconstruction bodies, these breast cancer survivors-mostly from Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center's Breast Cancer Support Group in Hershey, Pennsylvania-show us their scars (literally!) without the artistic haze of soft lighting. Real and raw to the bone, sometimes shockingly so, the 33 women impart their survivor wisdom in their own words, in both English and Spanish, with their partners occasionally chiming in. You'll hear about their love-hate relationships with their self-images and the agonizing decisions they had to make. Some have answered the question "to reconstruct or not reconstruct" while others are simply leaving their options open for now. While the pictures don't exactly paint a pretty picture in the way Reconstructing Aphrodite does, the facts and experiences that are presented are invaluable. This edition also includes a section of specialty resources, including a description of advanced techniques like sentinel lymph node biopsy and mammotomy, and short pieces by therapists, geneticists and surgeons on issues of genetic testing and sexuality. A helpful glossary at the end of the book provides an A to Z guide to the medical jargon patients will inadvertently encounter.

To order Show Me, visit www.hmc.psu.edu/womens/showme/. Reconstructing Aphrodite and The Breast Reconstruction Guidebook may be purchased at all major online book retailers. For more information on breast reconstruction, including state laws, check out the American Association of Plastic Surgeon's website at www.plasticsurgery.org/public_education/Breast-Reconstruction-Resources-Home.cfm.

Published in MAMM Magazine, Jan/Feb 2004