A breast cancer diagnosis is always going to be a terrifying thing.
The disease – estimated to strike 1 in 8 Canadian women during their lifetimes, according to the Canadian Cancer Society – is the most common cancer among women.
But survival rates for breast cancer have been improving since 1986. Nowadays, 89 per cent of women will survive for at least five years after diagnosis.
For a trio of female doctors at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH), successful treatment isn’t just about eradicating cancer. It’s also about making the following years as happy and beautiful as possible.
"Five years down the line, you shouldn’t be looking in the mirror, feeling unhappy," says Oakville oncological surgeon Nicole Callan. "Breast cancer already scars you emotionally – you shouldn’t be scarred physically too."
Areola tattooing transforms "bald breasts"
That’s a message that Dr. Alexandra Ginty knows and lives.
The Oakville family physician and surgical assistant at OTMH underwent a double mastectomy 13 years ago and knows the emotional toll the surgery takes on survivors.
In the years since, she has channelled her experience and empathy into making a difference for women who have survived breast cancer.
Last February, Ginty began offering OHIP-funded areola tattooing for women whose breast reconstruction surgery has left them with "bald breasts." Provided in an out-patient clinic at OTMH, she says the service is not decorative but the final stage of breast reconstruction.
"Psychologically, this is such a transformative thing," she says. "It’s so satisfying to give someone their body back."
Since the clinic’s launch, she has tattooed about 40 women who otherwise would have had to pay out-of-pocket for the service and venture outside of the medical system into a setting that may feel less safe.
For patient Vanessa Walker, the tattoo completed a breast reconstruction that has restored her confidence.
Diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer at 33, Walker underwent a bilateral mastectomy. After reconstruction and areola tattooing, she’s now happy with what she sees in the mirror.
"Now you can see an actual breast, not the fact that I had surgery," she says.
You’d fix a nose. Why not a breast?
While a mastectomy may be a life-saving surgery, it is also a life-changing surgery.
Knowing that, Oakville plastic surgeon Lauren Willoughby is passionate about giving women the choice to have immediate breast reconstruction done as part of the procedure.
Restoring a breast is as essential as any other body part, she says.
"You wouldn’t remove a cancer from a nose and not reconstruct it. A breast is a just as much a part of a woman as an arm or a nose. When you’re removing a body part, you should reconstruct it."
She works alongside Callan to help women have a seamless transition through cancer and into healing.
Immediate reconstruction also offers the best opportunity to preserve a woman’s own tissue and skin and reduces the likelihood of needing another surgery, says Callan.
For Julia Hanna, the one-stop surgery is as much about mental health as physical appearance.
Diagnosed with breast cancer last winter, the North Oakville restauranteur and former mayoral candidate says she healed more quickly because she didn’t face the reminder of her illness each time she got dressed or looked in the mirror.
Hanna praises the seamless treatment and support of the trio of OTMH doctors. She is making it her mission to fundraise for local women’s health issues.
"You have to take what life throws at you – with or without a breast," she says. "But it’s easier with a breast."