What is breast cancer?
Cancer is a group of diseases in which abnormal cells in your body begin to divide uncontrollably and spread to surrounding tissues. These cells can eventually form invasive masses of tissue called tumors. Breast cancer is when cancerous cells form in the cells of your breasts.
While it's more common in women, men can develop breast cancer as well. Some signs and symptoms that can indicate breast cancer are:
- Breast lump
- Change in size, shape, or appearance
- Changes to the breast skin
- Newly inverted nipples
- Peeling, scaling, or crusting of the areola or breast skin
- Red and pitted breast skin
If you notice any of these signs, get your breasts checked by a medical professional right away.
What happens once I receive a breast cancer diagnosis?
Once you receive a breast cancer diagnosis, your primary care physician or dermatologist can refer you to Dr. Chen, a noted oncologist at OasisMD. Dr. Chen can educate you about the specifics of your particular condition and offer various surgical options, including:
Lumpectomy
This surgery removes the tumor and some surrounding breast tissue, but not the entire breast and leaves your breasts looking as close to the way it did before surgery.
Mastectomy
This surgery removes the entire breast and can sometimes also include the removal of lymph nodes and the lining of your chest muscles.
Nipple sparing mastectomy
This is a newer surgery technique that removes all your breast tissue as in a mastectomy, but leaves the breast skin, nipple, and areola untouched.
Nipple sparing mastectomies are highly effective in maintaining the natural look of your breasts and can give you a better cosmetic outcome after effective reconstructive surgery.
What kind of breast reconstructive surgery do you offer?
After your oncologist removes all the cancerous tissue from your breast, the practice’s expert plastic surgeon, Dr. Chao, can help preserve the look of your breasts with breast reconstruction surgery.
OasisMD specializes in oncoplastic surgery, which integrates the latest plastic surgery techniques with breast surgical oncology to provide a combined treatment that addresses your disease while preserving the aesthetics of your breasts.
In order to do this, the surgeons at OasisMD perform your lumpectomy or mastectomy and immediately follow with reconstructive plastic surgery, so you only go in for surgery once. With oncoplastic surgery, you can feel more confident about the removal of your cancer while also persevering the physical appearance of your breasts.
To learn more about breast cancer treatments at OasisMD, call the office or use the online scheduling tool to book an appointment today.
