>>> DR.
JAY K. HARNESS: Perhaps you have seen the story about Giuliana Rancic returning to work
following her mastectomies.
This brings up a really interesting question that I am asked by patients.
“Dr. Harness, when can I go back to work?”, “What are my limitations at work?”, “What
can I do?”, “How I am going to feel about myself when I go back to work?”
As I have shared with patients for years I do the surgery, you do the healing.
So that healing times vary all over the place.
Also, the motivation of the patients vary all over the place.
And then, of course, there are different kinds of mastectomies.
There are mastectomies with reconstruction and mastectomies without reconstruction, and
once the drains are removed after the mastectomies, patients find their mobility increases tremendously;
they are more up and about moving around quickly, etc.
phases where the first phase is the placement of a tissue expander, which is done at the
time of the mastectomy, and then followed a few months later by the placement of a permanent
implant or a delayed rotation flap or something of that sort.
the answer.
How motivated are you?
What is the extent of the surgery that you had done?
A variety of factors like these.
“Are your drains out?”
But what do I encourage?
And this is really the bottom line of this video response.
they can to feeling normal and whole about themselves, and if getting back to work, such
as in the T.V.
industry can be done easily and quickly, more power to those individuals who can do that.
The healing process takes many weeks, but also part of getting back to work and having
reconstruction after a mastectomy is also part of the emotional reconstruction process
that I have talked about a lot at breastcanceranswers.com and also drjayharness.com.
that it is okay to get back to work, be thinking positively, and I think returning back to
work early is part of the positive altitude that I want patients to have, which certainly
leads to better healing, better outcomes, better feelings about one self, and just go
for it.
Hi, I am Dr. Jay Harness and I want to share with you important information that I believe
that every newly diagnosed patient with breast cancer needs to know.
Susan Denver: I am a breast cancer survivor.
Katherine Stockton: I am a breast cancer survivor.
Coree: I am a breast cancer survivor.
Susan Denver: And I want every woman to know…
Katherine Stockton: …about personalized breast cancer treatment…
Susan Denver: …and the genomic test.
Coree: A test that helps guide a woman and her doctor…
Katherine Stockton: …to the best treatment options for her.
Susan Denver: Pass it on!