Healthy Start to the week

We are partnering with IU Health to give Indy Style viewers a Healthy Start to the week. This is the first in a series of segments appearing every Monday morning that will cover a variety of topics with useful information.
Dr. Linda Han, breast cancer specialist IU Health has details on how advancements in breast cancer treatment help to reduce complications, side effects and pain.

About 4,000 women in Indiana are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. A growing number of these women – about 40% Dr. Han estimates – now opt for full mastectomies in order to diminish the risk of developing a second breast cancer. In the past, surgeons removed the tumor with as much surrounding tissue as possible as well as all nearby lymph nodes – those under the arms. These surgeries caused long recovery times, complications and chronic pain.

Now, however, expertise and technique has advanced:

• Surgeons can remove tumors through several small incisions, reducing scars and risk of infection
• Surgeons now only remove the closest lymph nodes – usually 3-5 instead of 10-20
• Surgeons can remove much larger tumors through lumpectomy instead of mastectomy, and then reshape the breast tissue without using implants
• Reconstruction can oftentimes be performed at the same time as the surgery. Studies have shown that reconstruction results in improved quality of life and self-esteem for survivors
  www.iuhealth.org