Feeling whole after breast cancer

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – If you get a diagnosis of breast cancer, your first feeling may be that your life is shattered.

And then you begin to put together a plan…for healing.

The usually means surgery to remove the cancerous tissue, maybe radiation or chemotherapy. But, then there’s the aftermath.

Dr. Sarath Palakodeti, M.D., a breast and cosmetic surgeon with Graves-Gilbert Clinic and Tristar Greenview Hospital says cancer typically means removing part of a patient’s body but breast reconstruction helps replace the missing tissue and offers a chance to look and feel whole.

It’s one aspect of the emotional aspect of cancer care. Jonna Neyenhaus, a mammographer with Tristar Greenview Hospital says she routinely helps patients who may be facing cancer and she sees their anxiety.

Kati Rogers, another mammographer at Tristar Greenview Hospital, says her job involves explaining the diagnostics process to patients and helping them know what to expect.