Patient Stories

According to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. If you have not had breast cancer, it is likely that you know someone who has. Women who have had surgery as part of their breast cancer treatment have many options to rebuild the shape and appearance of the breast, as well as comfort and function.

BRA

The Breast Reconstruction Awareness campaign, or BRA, aims to educate and empower women to make the decisions that are best for them. Most woman are not told and may not know that breast reconstruction is an option, or that insurance must cover at least part of the cost. Read powerful stories of women who are advocating for their bodies and their reconstruction options.

SUSAN

Susan Danenberger’s dreams of opening a winery became a reality in 2014 with Danenberger Family Vineyards. Just 6 months after the winery opened, Susan found a pea-size lump during a self-breast examination. The lump was so small, it didn't show up on a mammogram. An ultrasound revealed it was...

TAMI

Tami Russell, a Springfield police officer, started a conversation within her department about her cancer diagnosis. “It wasn’t normal for us to talk about these kinds of things. There had been many men and women before me who had been diagnosed with cancer, but it just wasn’t widely acknowledged.”...

JANELLE

Janelle Williams was just 22 years old when she discovered a lump in her breast. “I had always been told that I had fibrocystic breasts [rope-like or lumpy breast tissue], but this lump just felt different," Janelle shares. A mammogram revealed a mass in her left breast. After a biopsy, Janelle was...

AUTUMN

Autumn Kasch was stationed in Afghanistan as a Marine when she first felt the lump that would become her greatest battle. It was first believed to be a fibrosis of the breast but when she returned home, her lymph nodes began to swell. Further examination determined Autumn had stage 3 breast cancer...