Hi Jeniren, I totally hear you and had similiar thoughts during the 6 months of planning my own reconstruction. There does not seem to be a coordinated approach for breast reconstruction in Australia, like there is in the UK and the US and if there is it is certainly hard to find because I have been looking!
I cant figure this out but I think that perhaps when we battle through and finally get to the end we just want to move on, so perhaps there is not clear demand. I saw 4 plastic surgeons trying to negoriate my way through the various procedures and who offered what and where and how the system worked. I am in the regional location and it wasnt till my after i had seen 2 local plastic surgeons that I found that i needed to go to a metro location to pursue the surgery i wanted. If I had have been better informed, I would have known better questions to ask and perhaps would not have had to see so many which also is very costly.
I think perhaps some women do go with their first option for many different reasons; trust, guilt, exhaustion, simplicity, fear. If I did that I would not have had the procedure I did.
I also would like to see a central portal of sorts to assist women to negotiate their procedures and have all the information to be able to make informed decisions. Research says that women are more happy with their results, whether they reconstruct or not, if they are better informed during the planning stage.
I think you raise an important issue
I dont know if you are aware, but there is a 'breast reconstruction' online group here on BCNA where women are sharing their experiences of breast reconstruction. Its a small step towards filling the gap of information on this topic. http://www.bcna.org.au/group/61026
XXX Louie
