Nearly 300,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed every year and breast cancer accounts for about 30 percent of all new female cancer each year.
The thoughts of most patients facing a breast cancer diagnosis are a flurry of concerns about survival rates, treatments, appearance, and the overall impact on their life and loved ones.
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Intermountain Health is celebrating breast cancer survivors. An event over the weekend recognized the 11th annual Intermountain Health BRA Day — which is Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day — because only 19 percent of women understand that the timing of their treatment for breast cancer and the timing of their decision to undergo reconstruction, greatly impacts their options and results.
The Women’s Health and Cancer Act of 1998 requires health insurers to cover the cost of breast reconstruction following mastectomy in all 50 states.
Recent statistics indicate seven in 10 women are not aware of their breast reconstruction options following a mastectomy.