Breast Reconstruction after Mastectomy Info video 4, M:TA

www.myselftogetheragain.org Breast Reconstruction Info video series from Myself Together Again. Visit www.myselftogetheragain for more info.

I hope that this video series update finds everyone well. It has been 3 months since we last shared a video of Sherri's reconstruction story with you. The last video showed Sherri having to manage burns on her breast that were a result of accidentally using a heating pad on her body following her double mastectomy surgery. Due to lack of feeling in her chest, she experienced 2nd degree burns on her breast just after having the expanders placed in during her surgery. From our standpoint, it was hard to see such a healthy person taking on reconstruction and then seeing her experience the type of delay that can happen to many women who have cancer, causing them to be unable to adhere to their expected reconstruction time line. Although Sherri's journey began with a choice to have prophylactic surgery in order to avoid having breast cancer, she was still unprepared, like many women are, for the challenges that can arise during the reconstruction process.

Today, we are so happy to report that Sherri has completed all of her expansions, her burns continue to heal and look better and better each day, and she has even had her exchange surgery. The expanders are out and her silicone Natrelle® implants are in.

We decided to present all of this to you in two videos. We will be sharing Part 1 today and within a few days we will share Part 2. It was a lot to document, but expansions can take a few months depending on how a person's body responds to the stretching. Once you achieve your desired size, you have to be over expanded in order for the plastic surgeon to have enough skin to work with when doing the implant surgery. Sherri did not go on camera after her last expansion because she was really uncomfortable and in a lot of pain and discomfort. As you will see in the following video, we decided to tape Sherri while her doctor was "marking" her skin the day of her implant surgery.

Before we bring you Part 1, we want to share some exciting news with our community. M:TA welcomes our second corporate sponsor for 2011: Life Cell™. Like Natrelle®, who signed on with us earlier in the year, we feel honored to announce the partnership between M:TA and the LifeCell Corporation. Since 1994, LifeCell™ has been a pioneer in regenerative medicine. The flagship product, AlloDerm® Regenerative Tissue Matrix, has been used in over 1 million grafts and implants to date. In 2005, when the first M:TA booklet went out into the world, AlloDerm® Regenerative Tissue Matrix had been used specifically in breast reconstruction for less than one year. Since then, the product has assisted in helping surgeons advance breast reconstruction techniques. The main reason that LifeCell™ decided to join forces with us this year is because of the opportunity they will have to help educate mastectomy patients about AlloDerm® Regenerative Tissue Matrix in the second M:TA booklet, due out this Fall.

Dr. Jacobs, Sherri's plastic surgeon, used AlloDerm® during the first stage of her reconstruction. We will discuss how and why he used the product more thoroughly in the new booklet. The folks working with Natrelle® and AlloDerm® share the same goals that we do -- to educate patients about their breast reconstruction options. It is a huge milestone for M:TA to have these two corporate sponsors on board with us for 2011. With their support, we can continue to share all of the advances in breast reconstruction with our audience.

Thank you for staying involved in our work and supporting our public charity. We hope that this next video is as informative as the others and we hope that you will tune in to Part 2 next week.