Dr. Hollie Hickman and her staff at Ponte Vedra Plastic Surgery are preparing for October and breast cancer awareness month.
The Ponte Vedra Plastic Surgery staff are planning to go all out this year when it comes to raising awareness by wearing as much pink as possible of Friday’s during the month and having testimonials from both clients and employees who have survived battles with breast cancer.
Self-breast examination cards will also be handed out to clients. The cards are made to be put in the shower and have punch holes that can be punched out each month throughout the year to help keep track.
According to Hickman, it is just another way to promote the importance of education and being aware of changes with one’s body.
“I’ve been in practice for 12 years now, and I do a little bit of everything,” Hickman said. “I can do cleft lips and palates on a mission, but I can do the cosmetic and breast reconstruction in my daily practice. Plastic surgery is a very creative field.”
Even though she has been helping people for years now, the feedback she receives, and the excitement people have after a surgery is something that will never get old for her.
“Breast cancer is of course the most rewarding, because it’s all about helping them reconstruct the breast and giving them pretty breasts,” Hickman said. “Back in the day you really couldn’t give them pretty breasts because we didn’t have all the options we have now.”
She credited the advancements in technology and science that make those options available now.
“It’s nice as a woman to walk through that with a patient, because I’m at risk to get breast cancer,” Hickman said. “One in eight women will get breast cancer outside of their 40s, and inside their 40s it is one in six women will get breast cancer.”
Although those numbers may be scary, Hickman said that they can be combated with proper self-examinations and awareness.
However, that fear is a powerful thing for those who are dealing with breast cancer, but Hickman strives to do her best to make sure they understand that it is her job to make sure they look as beautiful as they did before the cancer.
“All women should keep up with their mammograms and do monthly self-breast exams,” Hickman said. “Just because you don’t have a family history of breast cancer, does not mean you are immune to it.”
Catching the cancer early increases the chances of dealing with it before it can spread further.
“Patients that do monthly self-breast examines have a higher survival rate,” Hickman said. “They are familiar with their breast tissue, so when something’s off, they know.”
Many of the patients Hickman sees have been through their battle and are looking to gain the confidence they may have lost going through it.
“The general surgeon is usually takes away your breast, but then it’s my job to put it back,” Hickman said. “I get to be the person that restores their femininity, which is really fun.”
