PLANTATION, Fla. – A recent survey found that 72 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer undergo mastectomy, but some are opting not to do breast reconstruction.
Dr. Alejandra Perez with Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center said there’s a movement underway called ‘going flat’ where women are challenging long held assumptions around femininity.
“Women, we are more than just breasts and women don’t need breasts to feel whole and that’s what many of the women that are proponents of ‘going flat’, that’s what they say and they feel good with themselves. They need to get used to their new post breast cancer body and they feel whole like that and that’s a good thing,” she said.
Perez pointed out that the treatments for breast cancer can be emotionally and physically exhausting and some women simply don’t want to undergo the involved process of reconstruction and possible complications.
And studies funded by the National Institutes of Health are revealing the damaging effects of vaping and smoking on blood vessels.
As a result, the studies found that long term use of electronic cigarettes or vaping products increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Additionally the use of both e-cigs and regular cigarettes may cause even greater risk than the use of either of these products alone.
The findings have implications for efforts to regulate both tobacco products and e-cigarettes.