In May of this year, I will be a 5 year breast cancer survivor. It's still hard to believe that this happened to me, especially now that I no longer have the every day reminders when I stand in front of a mirror.

In 2001, I underwent bilateral radical mastectomy and tissue expanders were put into place at time of surgery. I knew I didn't want to have the TRAM flap procedure for all of the obvious reasons, so implants were my only choice. I had six rounds of chemo and every week or so went to the plastic surgeon's office for a "fill up" in the tissue expanders. In addition to the discomfort, I found this all very bizarre and was not happy with these "boxes" on my chest. After a while, the tissue expanders came out and the saline implants were put into place. Maybe this will be better, I thought, more natural and softer than the tissue expanders. I felt "normal" for about two months and for some reason, an infection developed on the right side and the implant had to be removed. What a carved up mess I was! Now, I had a ball on one side of my chest and nothing on the other side. The doctor said that after the appropriate healing time, we could try the implant again. I quickly decided that I was finished with surgeries and would not undergo another procedure. I became very depressed at the thought of going through the rest of my life looking the way I did, and having to look at myself in the mirror everyday certainly didn't help matters. It was a constant reminder of what cancer had done to me.

In 2004, I learned of the DIEP flap procedure being performed by you in New Orleans. I studied your website for many months and finally made the initial phone call to your office. Thanks to your wonderful and caring staff, all of the arrangements were made over the telephone and before I knew it, my husband and I were flying from Florida to New Orleans to a doctor that I had never met and I was going to undergo breast reconstruction. What was I thinking? I remember telling my husband the night before my appointment with you that if I didn't feel comfortable and confident with you, we would take the first plane back to Florida.

At our office appointment, I knew right away that I had made the right decision. You were so very kind and patient, answering all of our questions and explaining the entire procedure to us. The surgery was performed on July 28, 2005, and a few days later I was out of the hospital and having dinner at a local restaurant. was so surprized at how easy the recovery was compared to the mastectomy recovery time.

In January 2006, my husband and I traveled to Charleston, South Carolina for Stage 2 of the reconstruction process. The procedure was done on a Monday and on Tuesday we were touring Charleston. A few days later, I returned to work full time.

Dr. Levine I don't know the words to express my deep and heartfelt thanks and gratitude to you for giving me back my life. For the first time in almost 5 years, I feel like a woman. My self-confidence has soared because I am a whole person once again. I no longer think about breast cancer every day because I no longer have the constant reminder when I look in the mirror.

God has blessed you with a truly special gift and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I will never forget what you've done for me. I pray that God will continue to abundantly bless you and your family.

With warmest regards,

Teresa

Dr. Levine's patient