HOUSTON– In support of The Plastic Surgery Foundation’s third annual Breast Reconstruction Awareness (BRA) Day observance, The Rose is focusing on BRAveFaces of The Rose with an organization-wide art contest highlighting a serious subject in a fun way. Winners with the best entries of decorated bras — highlighting the “BRAvery” of diagnosed patients — will be revealed on October 15 at The Rose’s two locations — 12700 N. Featherwood and 5420 West Loop South.
The Rose Patient Navigators have taken the lead in helping The Rose staff become better educated regarding breast reconstruction and will follow up BRA Day activities with a yearlong education and awareness campaign. They enlisted Dr. Kendall Roehl, a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeon and the Board of The Rose, to lay the awareness foundation at a recent presentation to the more than 100 members of The Rose staff.
Dr. Roehl told the group gathered, “Unfortunately, only 20% of all women diagnosed with breast cancer get to see a plastic surgeon prior to their cancer operation. General surgeons are not giving them referrals or the patients don’t know to ask for one. So we have a major lack in public knowledge and education.
“Breast reconstruction is often the silver lining in a very bad chapter of a woman’s life. There are options for almost every woman diagnosed with breast cancer and the goal of reconstructive surgery is to make a woman feel whole and feminine again.”
An award from The Plastic Surgeon Foundation will ensure that appropriate educational materials will be available as Patient Navigators help to navigate diagnosed women to treatment and as they share information with members of The Rose’s six support groups and the general public at events like health fairs.
BRA Day is an initiative designed to promote education, awareness and access regarding post-mastectomy breast reconstruction. BRA Day is a collaboration between the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, The Plastic Surgery Foundation, breast centers, nurse navigators, corporate partners and breast cancer support groups. For more information, please visit www.BRAdayUSA.org.
About ASPS and The PSF
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) is the largest plastic surgery specialty organization in the world. Founded in 1931, the society is composed of board-certified plastic surgeons that perform cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. The mission of ASPS is to advance quality care to plastic surgery patients by encouraging high standards of training, ethics, physician practice and research in plastic surgery. The Society advocates for patient safety, such as requiring its members to operate in accredited surgical facilities that have passed rigorous external review of equipment and staffing. ASPS works in concert with The Plastic Surgery Foundation (The PSF), founded in 1948, which supports research, international volunteer programs and visiting professor programs. The foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life of patients through research and development. The PSF accomplishes its mission by providing invaluable support to the research of plastic surgery sciences through a variety of grant programs.
