While breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among American Indian women, very little information on breast reconstruction surgery is provided to these women. Why has breast reconstruction information been so rarely available for Native women?
According to a past president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), it is due to lack of both insurance coverage and personal empowerment through patient education. Consequently, Native women often do not get breast reconstruction after mastectomy unless they have private insurance or can afford to pay for this procedure themselves. Very few have these options, so the majority of American Indian women have not been able to get reconstruction.
2006 was a breakthrough year for American Indian women who underwent mastectomy. This was the first year the Susan G. Komen Foundation awarded the Phoenix Indian Medical Center the grant Whole Again: A Second Year Project to Build a Capacity for Breast Reconstruction Surgery for American Indian Women with Breast Cancer.
The objectives of the grant were to:
- Purchase the necessary equipment needed to provide breast reconstructions at the Phoenix Indian Medical Center
- Provide breast reconstruction surgeries for American Indian women
- Contract with a plastic surgeon to provide surgical services since the Phoenix Indian Medical Center did not have a qualified plastic surgeon on site.
The Phoenix Indian Medical Center selected Phoenix-area plastic surgeon, Dr. John Bass, to provide the surgical services and train their Phoenix Indian Medical Center general surgeons to perform many of the reconstructive procedures themselves.
Dr. Bass has been active in the Maricopa County Medical Society since 1989 and served as president in 2001. He has been affiliated with Paradise Valley Hospital, John C. Lincoln Hospital and Medical Center, Scottsdale Healthcare Hospitals and Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. He currently is providing services at the Scottsdale Healthcare Hospital – the Shea and the Osborn campus as well as at the Phoenix Indian Medical Center. Dr. Bass is certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery. He is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the Lipoplasty Society of North America, the Maricopa County Medical Society and the Arizona Medical Association.
Dr. Bass and the Phoenix Indian Medical Center team have agreed to partner again to provide breast reconstruction services to 10-12 patients this year to offer more options to American Indian women.
Breast reconstruction can change a woman's life exponentially.
- One of Phoenix Indian Medical Center's patients who underwent reconstruction was so empowered that she went on to become the hospital's new Reach to Recovery volunteer. This is a program sponsored by the American Cancer Society that trains women to become volunteers within their community who meet with newly diagnosed women, providing them with support through their diagnosis, treatment and survivorship.
- Another patient who underwent reconstruction recently was a model in a breast cancer benefit fundraiser fashion show for Banner of Hope, a local breast cancer fundraiser.
- "It feels good to have modesty again"
- "I won't have to worry about losing my prosthesis in the swimming pool anymore!"
- "I feel balanced again"
- "I feel attractive in my clothes again"
- "Now my crumbs won't fall on my stomach"
- "Thank you!"
About Dr. John Bass, M.D.:
Dr. Bass received his medical degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. He continued through five years of surgical training at the Phoenix Integrated Surge women's jackets ry Residency Program and two additional years of plastic surgery residency at St. Louis University Medical Center. Dr. Bass is a member of The American Society of Plastic Surgeons, The Lipoplasty Society of North America, The Maricopa Medical Society and The Arizona Medical Association. Dr. Bass has practiced plastic surgery in Arizona since 1989 and was name one of Phoenix's "Top Docs" by Phoenix Magazine. For additional information, please visit: http://www.jwbass.com
Media contact:
Jason W. Jantzen
Phoenix Marketing Associates
http://www.PhoenixMarketingAssociates.com
602-282-0202
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