RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – “Victory! Because you won the battle!”, is the name of the Paraguayan campaign promoted by the Office of the First Lady (OPD) in partnership with the Paraguayan Society of Reconstructive and Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (SPACPRE) and the Ministry of Public Health. The launch was held on Monday, October 14th, at the San Pablo Maternal and Infant Hospital.
It is estimated that Paraguayan women who survive breast cancer treatment such as mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, in most cases do not complete their treatment with breast reconstruction, due to the lack of information and the expensive surgeries. In an effort to reverse this situation and improve women’s quality of life, the idea emerged to start the campaign.
During the presentation, Vicente Acuña, director of the San Pablo Maternal and Infant Hospital, said that in addition to winning the battle against cancer, they will also be able to regain their self-esteem through breast reconstruction.
The procedures will begin next November and will be extended until December 2020. They will be performed on Paraguayan women who have undergone a mastectomy due to cancer, with a favorable clinical condition and according to the medical protocol established for this type of procedure.
In order to have access to breast reconstruction surgery, free medical consultations will be provided to breast cancer survivors on dates established by the Hospital San Pablo de Asunción, and then a selection procedure will be carried out and the surgeries will be performed free of charge by volunteer doctors from the SPACPRE.
The Office of the First Lady and the hospital establishments of the Ministry of Health will be in charge of providing the supplies.
The women benefited will rely on the support of a multidisciplinary team made up of several professionals such as surgeons, physicians, anesthesiologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, nursing professionals, and others, who will provide their services voluntarily.
In the occasion, the Minister of Health, Julio Mazzoleni called for medical consultations for early detection and timely treatment, “we stress that consultation is crucial, self-examination and mammography are important, but medical consultation is crucial”.
The “Victory” campaign is part of the international BRA Day initiative that promotes education, awareness, and access to women considering post-mastectomy breast reconstruction.
Reconstructive surgery has a significant impact on a woman’s quality of life and represents what is termed the ‘closure’ or ‘culmination’ of her treatment, according to the Ministry of Health.
Source: ADN