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New, custom-made breast prosthesis is giving cancer survivors a better fit
BY BAO ONG
Knight Ridder Newspapers

1/16/04

ST. PAUL, Minn. - (KRT) - For many breast-cancer survivors, the only alternative to breast-reconstruction surgery or implants is to wear a prosthesis - typically a silicone gel breast slipped into a specially made bra. Many women have complained that prosthetic breasts are uncomfortable. Now, the impersonal one-size-fits-all breast prostheses may become a thing of the past.

Radiant Impressions, a company based in Lexington, Ky., has developed a line of breast prostheses that are custom built to perfectly fit a woman's surgical site and closely match her size, shape and skin tone. Terry Ferguson, an orthodontist from Kentucky, invented the new prosthetic breast when he noticed the limited options his wife had after having a mastectomy.

"(Breasts are) part of being a woman and now you don't have them anymore, that's why it's tough," said Mary Conroy, a 59-year-old breast-cancer survivor, of losing her breasts. "I remember looking into the mirror and feeling that sense of loss."

Since getting her new prostheses, the radiologic technologist and certified mammographer from Apple Valley, Minn., says she feels better. "It's a good feeling to have something there. I don't look like a boy," Conroy said.

Standard breast forms are available only in sizes 0 to 17 with a Caucasian pinkish skin tone. The new, custom-made forms have more than 21 skin tones - ranging from light peach to dark brown.

Radiant Impressions breast prostheses cost about $2,800 compared with $350 for the traditional breast form. (Some insurance providers pay for the new forms.) The difference in cost is worth it for those who have used both types of prostheses.

Carol Krieger, a 58-year-old retired teacher in White Bear Lake, Minn., had a mastectomy in July 2002 after being diagnosed with breast cancer a month after having a heart attack.

"With the first prosthesis, it still doesn't feel like you have enough flesh or feeling," said Krieger, who got her new prosthetic breast in August. "And the new one, it makes you feel like you have your breast back. The whole thing."

The new breast prosthesis is made of silicone foam and weighs 50 percent less than most prostheses. The manufacturers custom-make a nipple and any veins or moles that existed on a woman's breast. There is ventilation in the back of the prosthesis as well. Women are able to wear the form without a bra by applying a silicone adhesive. They can also go into saunas and hot tubs.

According Dr. Jim Fletcher, who works with breast reconstruction through the Breast Health Center at Regions Hospital and is an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, the new option represents a good bridge between a formal reconstruction surgery and standard breast prosthesis.

"Although more expensive (than a standard breast prosthesis), there are upsides to it," Fletcher said. "It's much less expensive than (reconstruction) surgery. It looks more realistic, fits better and is better."

Before Krieger and Conroy got their new prostheses, they went for a fitting at Superior Medical Services in Woodbury, Minn., which sells mastectomy garments. Nancy Gunderson, the owner, helps clients with the fitting by making two casts.

The first cast is made with the bare chest wall so the manufacturers know where every contour exists. Another cast is made with the client wearing a bra and prosthesis. Each cast takes about 30 minutes to complete. Along with pictures taken for the manufacturer and the careful fittings, the entire process takes about 90 minutes, said Gunderson.

Those 90 minutes changed Conroy's life. The diagnosis of cancer was the most difficult part to deal with, but her prostheses have helped her lead a more normal life, she said.

"It's made me feel more like I never had cancer. I can put them on and think, 'I look good today,' " she said. "You need that some days. It changes your whole life."

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/7711526.htm