Mastectomies. Partial mastectomy is day surgery. In and out within one day. Full and radical mastectomies are an overnight surgery depending on pain which has a lot to do with how many lymph nodes are removed.
Mastectomies are not considered major surgery.
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Reconstruction is scary with pain and chance of infection. The patient does not go home the next day. They are in ICU because of the risks of infection. There is a lot of pain associated with expanders for implants and with the DIEP flap where the move muscles around. Surgical sites that have undergone radiation are not good candidates for reconstruction because the skin is so damaged that the further trauma can break it down. I support anyone’s decision on reconstruction.
Radiation and chemo are life changing.
Tamoxifen and Arimidex are life saving but have significant side effects.
The loss of breasts are so traumatizing to women that (I repeat myself) Congress passed a law that breast reconstruction after cancer must be covered by insurance, that it is not an elective surgery.
Breast augmentation for appearance is considered elective. A lot of people do this. It’s an established and accepted procedure regardless of individual opinions on whether or not it enhances or detracts from appearance. Maybe in another topic, there could be another thread on elective surgeries to enhance or change one’s appearance but if someone can afford it and it helps their self esteem, ok.
I do not know if electively augmented breast reconstruction after a mutilating (using @lazaret’s legal definition) injury from a gunshot(s) that enters through clothes, skin, saline filled silicon implant, or silicon implant, bone, cartilage that drives material into the surrounding tissue and into the body cavity and lung is covered by insurance. I suppose it’s back to google to see if there is anything on New Jersey covering medical costs of crime victims and what is covered.
Shared is the potential for loss of life and the trauma of losing breasts. However, comparing having one’s breast mutilated (still using @lazaret’s legal definition) by a violent injury inflicted by another to cancer is not apples to apples. LK had major life saving surgery. Mastectomies do not open or contaminate the body cavity. They are not major surgery.
Cancer is its own beast. It can be from a specific source but except for cancers like mesothelioma from asbestos, it’s hard to know why it occurs. Breast cancer affects what is it today 1 in 8? It was 1 in 12 then 1 in 10. Yep. Google says 1 in 8. Cancer is not personal though having it is. It just is.