A great deal of research has been devoted to the treatment of cancer in the last 60 years. High tech treatments are now being developed which can increase survival rates and reduce the terrible side effects of the highly toxic drugs and radiation which are the foundations of most medical cancer treatments. New surgical techniques including arthroscopic have greatly aided doctors in removing tumors. Indeed, medical science has every reason to be both proud and optimistic about the prospects of cancer treatment in the 21st Century.
But very little research has been done on the psychological causes of cancer. Why, for example, are certain cancers like breast, colon, and prostate cancer such epidemics in our society? This kind of research could not only help us to change the structures of our culture to greatly reduce the incidence of such diseases, it could give us a wealth of information on how to cure these afflictions. As a hypnotherapist who has specialized in accessing these underlying causes for 25 years of work with cancer patients I have discovered some important answers to this question.
Take breast cancer. According to recent research one out of every eight women will suffer breast cancer in her lifetime. 20 years ago that figure was one in ten. To describe this as a growing epidemic is a serious understatement. But it seems to me that not enough doctors and scientists are asking "why breast cancer?"
Let me illustrate this with a medical mystery from the past. In 19th century England, during the peak of the first industrial revolution, it is estimated that over 75% of deaths were attributed to a single disease: consumption. We now know that this epidemic was directly created by the acid-filled coal smoke that poured out of the chimneys of England's factories and homes, combined with a virulent strain of tuberculosis which thrived in the cold damp climate, overcrowded tenements, and polluted air of England.
So I went straight to that practice. I could not get Dr. Robert Allen (who pioneered the procedure), without waiting longer than I wanted to, so I went with his partner, Dr. Levine. Overall, I am happy with the results. The shape of the breast itself is great, and the fat transfer was successful, which is no small thing in itself. Unfortunately, the nipple/areola did not fare well, due to a blood clot underneath it after surgery, which was not caught. Dr. Levine wanted to go ahead and remove the nipple/areola but I was determined to keep it and see what happened. This meant letting the area die off to the extent that it would from the lack of circulation, and then see what was left. Now, a year later, the nipple itself is gone, and the areola looks pretty scarred up, but I am hopeful that with tattooing to make the scarred areola match the color of the other side, and with a reconstructed nipple, that it will end up looking good. The abdominal scar, on the other hand, is 20" long and there is no other way to describe it but ugly, although I hope it will improve as the scar fades.
In retrospect, I think I would have done things a little differently. I let the first surgeon scare me with the statistics of how likely the cancer was to return if I did not have a mastectomy. The reality is that had I had another lumpectomy that got all of the cancer, that would probably have been enough, with radiation, to give me the same survival rate that I have now, having had a mastectomy without radiation. It turned out that there was not much cancer left after the lumpectomy -- another pass would probably have gotten it all, plus a nice wide margin around the cancerous area, which is the major determining factor of whether this particular cancer will return. A wide margin is key, and far more meaningful than any statistics. I wish I had made that second pass and assessed the results before moving on to a mastectomy. If I had reservations at that time, I could always have continued on with a mastectomy. There is no going back, however, once the mastectomy is done.
The natural tissue capsule that forms around the implant within the body can sometimes thicken or contract causing unnatural firmness or shape to the breast. This condition is called "capsular contracture". This is a very uncommon complication which can be reduced by exercises. If it occurs open or closed capsulotomy may be required.
Remember that Federal law requires your insurance to cover reconstruction. They must also cover the matching of the other breast, if need be, so that you end up with a "matching set". And many insurance HMOs or PPOs will allow you to go elsewhere if you can prove that your group does not offer the procedure you want.
In selecting the size of the implant, the general choice should be jointly made by the patient and the surgeon prior to surgery. While ultimately, the choice of size is made by the patient, she should recognize that there are advantages to a conservative selection. Capsular contracture and rippling are more common with larger implants. Postoperative numbness and long term sagging are also more common the large size selected. The shape of your augmented breasts depends on the implant size and shape along with how your breast appear prior to surgery. The same size and shaped implant on one patient can look completely different on someone else. Therefore, one should avoid picking a size or shape solely on what 'looks good' on someone else.
I am highly skeptical of overly simplistic theories about any disease process. So it's important to keep in mind that only your breast knows what issues have led to its disease. Sometimes it is necessary to process feelings of loss, grief, or guilt that are associated with the client's breasts. One client found her cancerous right breast was tired of "nursing" her emotionally immature husband, who always slept on her right side in bed. Another felt guilty about not nursing her children and needed to beg their forgiveness. One simple way to access the breast's emotional baggage is to journey into the breast in a hypnotic state, or talk to the breast in hypnosis as if it were a person to find out what issues are haunting it. Notice that in both of these examples, the nurturing function of the breast was being twisted or neglected in some way.
But very little research has been done on the psychological causes of cancer. Why, for example, are certain cancers like breast, colon, and prostate cancer such epidemics in our society? This kind of research could not only help us to change the structures of our culture to greatly reduce the incidence of such diseases, it could give us a wealth of information on how to cure these afflictions. As a hypnotherapist who has specialized in accessing these underlying causes for 25 years of work with cancer patients I have discovered some important answers to this question.
Take breast cancer. According to recent research one out of every eight women will suffer breast cancer in her lifetime. 20 years ago that figure was one in ten. To describe this as a growing epidemic is a serious understatement. But it seems to me that not enough doctors and scientists are asking "why breast cancer?"
Let me illustrate this with a medical mystery from the past. In 19th century England, during the peak of the first industrial revolution, it is estimated that over 75% of deaths were attributed to a single disease: consumption. We now know that this epidemic was directly created by the acid-filled coal smoke that poured out of the chimneys of England's factories and homes, combined with a virulent strain of tuberculosis which thrived in the cold damp climate, overcrowded tenements, and polluted air of England.
So I went straight to that practice. I could not get Dr. Robert Allen (who pioneered the procedure), without waiting longer than I wanted to, so I went with his partner, Dr. Levine. Overall, I am happy with the results. The shape of the breast itself is great, and the fat transfer was successful, which is no small thing in itself. Unfortunately, the nipple/areola did not fare well, due to a blood clot underneath it after surgery, which was not caught. Dr. Levine wanted to go ahead and remove the nipple/areola but I was determined to keep it and see what happened. This meant letting the area die off to the extent that it would from the lack of circulation, and then see what was left. Now, a year later, the nipple itself is gone, and the areola looks pretty scarred up, but I am hopeful that with tattooing to make the scarred areola match the color of the other side, and with a reconstructed nipple, that it will end up looking good. The abdominal scar, on the other hand, is 20" long and there is no other way to describe it but ugly, although I hope it will improve as the scar fades.
In retrospect, I think I would have done things a little differently. I let the first surgeon scare me with the statistics of how likely the cancer was to return if I did not have a mastectomy. The reality is that had I had another lumpectomy that got all of the cancer, that would probably have been enough, with radiation, to give me the same survival rate that I have now, having had a mastectomy without radiation. It turned out that there was not much cancer left after the lumpectomy -- another pass would probably have gotten it all, plus a nice wide margin around the cancerous area, which is the major determining factor of whether this particular cancer will return. A wide margin is key, and far more meaningful than any statistics. I wish I had made that second pass and assessed the results before moving on to a mastectomy. If I had reservations at that time, I could always have continued on with a mastectomy. There is no going back, however, once the mastectomy is done.
The natural tissue capsule that forms around the implant within the body can sometimes thicken or contract causing unnatural firmness or shape to the breast. This condition is called "capsular contracture". This is a very uncommon complication which can be reduced by exercises. If it occurs open or closed capsulotomy may be required.
Remember that Federal law requires your insurance to cover reconstruction. They must also cover the matching of the other breast, if need be, so that you end up with a "matching set". And many insurance HMOs or PPOs will allow you to go elsewhere if you can prove that your group does not offer the procedure you want.
In selecting the size of the implant, the general choice should be jointly made by the patient and the surgeon prior to surgery. While ultimately, the choice of size is made by the patient, she should recognize that there are advantages to a conservative selection. Capsular contracture and rippling are more common with larger implants. Postoperative numbness and long term sagging are also more common the large size selected. The shape of your augmented breasts depends on the implant size and shape along with how your breast appear prior to surgery. The same size and shaped implant on one patient can look completely different on someone else. Therefore, one should avoid picking a size or shape solely on what 'looks good' on someone else.
I am highly skeptical of overly simplistic theories about any disease process. So it's important to keep in mind that only your breast knows what issues have led to its disease. Sometimes it is necessary to process feelings of loss, grief, or guilt that are associated with the client's breasts. One client found her cancerous right breast was tired of "nursing" her emotionally immature husband, who always slept on her right side in bed. Another felt guilty about not nursing her children and needed to beg their forgiveness. One simple way to access the breast's emotional baggage is to journey into the breast in a hypnotic state, or talk to the breast in hypnosis as if it were a person to find out what issues are haunting it. Notice that in both of these examples, the nurturing function of the breast was being twisted or neglected in some way.