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Tag: mastectomy

What to Expect Before, During, and After Your Mastectomy

What to Expect Before, During, and After Your Mastectomy

Second To Nature Specializes in Mastectomy Education and Prosthetics
Explaining what to expect before, during, and after your mastectomy is our blog topic this month. We specialize in mastectomy education at Second To Nature, so it’s important to us to explain the mastectomy process. Pre-mastectomy, you’ll likely have NPO orders, including no aspirin. Post-mastectomy, you can expect to learn pain management skills and consider prosthetic options.
Pre-Mastectomy, Doctors Usually Order “NPO,” Including OTC Aspirin
Pre-mastectomy, your doctor will probably issue “NPO” orders, which generally includes no aspirin. NPO is an abbreviation for the Latin term “Nil per os.” When you see NPO, it means “nothing by mouth;” no food or liquid, except enough water to swallow necessary medications. If you take a prescription blood-thinning medication, you can’t take it pre-mastectomy. However, if you don’t take a blood-thinning prescription, the doctor will probably include “no aspirin” as a preemptive NPO order.
Why Would a Doctor Say No Aspirin as an NPO Order?
Including “no aspirin” in an NPO order is a safety measure. During surgery, doctors don’t want to risk too much blood leaving the body. Aspirin is a natural blood-thinning medication. Adding “no aspirin” to a pre-mastectomy NPO order reduces the risk of a patient bleeding out during surgery.
Choose from a Double, Skin-Sparing, or a Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy
In March of 2022, we explained the various breast cancer surgery options, plus lumpectomy and mastectomy pros and cons. Generally, patients only need one breast removed in a mastectomy. However, many women decide to get a double mastectomy to save their other breast from a recurrence. Mastectomy variations include skin-sparing and nipple-sparing surgeries.
Post-Mastectomy Involves Pain Management and Pondering Prosthetics
After, or post-mastectomy, you can expect to be in some pain, and therefore you’ll need to develop pain management skills. Pain management simply means assessing your level of discomfort, and taking medication as needed. Most doctors suggest taking medication on a regular schedule as part of your pain management regimen. Eventually, your pain management abilities should strengthen, and you’ll need less medication to manage your pain. Besides pain management, you may need to consider prosthetics post-mastectomy.
Achieve Torso Symmetry Post-Mastectomy with a Custom Prosthetic
In November of 2022, we blogged about custom post-mastectomy options available in the MyShape collection by ABC prosthetics. ABC’s MyShape post-mastectomy prosthetics have material that molds shapers and balancers to a post-mastectomy patient’s torso area. For example, ABC’s RFS Amandasil™ silicone back molds to the surgical topography of a post-mastectomy patient’s chest wall.
To find out more about custom breast prosthesis, contact Second To Nature in Roanoke, VA, by calling (540) 366-2711. Receive updates when you like us on Facebook and follow us. We’re also happy to talk more about what to expect before, during, and after your mastectomy.

March 13, 2026
Why Should I Do a Pre-Surgery Consultation?
Why Should I Do a Pre-Surgery Consultation?

It’s Vital to Know All of Your Surgical Options and Your Post-Op Choices
If you’re wondering “why should I do a pre-surgery consultation,” that’s what we’re blogging about this month. After the initial shock that comes with a breast cancer diagnosis, the next step usually leads to treatment and after-care. Sometimes you can treat and eliminate breast cancer without surgical options, but that’s not usually the case. When diagnosed with breast cancer, a few reasons it’s important to have a pre-surgery consultation include:
Understanding each type of surgery
Weighing the pros and cons between a lumpectomy and mastectomy
Deciding if you want breast reconstruction or a prosthesis
Having a Consultation Helps You Understand Every Type of Surgery
Obviously, choosing to have a pre-surgery consultation means you’re considering surgery. When you have a pre-surgery consultation, the surgeon usually outlines the different types of surgery available to you. Three common surgical options involved with treating breast cancer include getting a lumpectomy, mastectomy, and an axillary lymph node dissection.
Axillary Lymph Node Dissection
An axillary lymph node dissection involves the surgeon removing lymph nodes from under the arm. Once removed, they’re given to a pathologist, who examines the lymph nodes for cancer cells. Cancer found in the sentinel lymph node could lead to another lymph node dissection surgery. How many lymph nodes get removed varies from patient to patient. If you have a tumor less than five centimeters, usually two or less sentinel lymph nodes with cancer get dissected. Often this includes getting a lumpectomy and radiation, Moreover, if you need to get a mastectomy, you might avoid an axillary lymph node dissection all together.
Lumpectomy
A lumpectomy dissects the tumor itself and a small margin of cancer-free tissue around it, leaving most of the breast. If you’re diagnosed with invasive cancer, oncologists generally recommend radiation therapy to the remaining breast tissue after surgery. A lumpectomy is also known as breast-conserving surgery, a partial mastectomy, quadrantectomy, or a segmental mastectomy lumpectomy.
Mastectomy
A mastectomy is the surgical option that removes the entire breast. Often only one breast needs removed, however many women opt for double-mastectomies to stave off reoccurrence in their other breast. Among the various styles include a skin-sparing mastectomy and a nipple-sparing mastectomy.
Weigh Pros and Cons of a Lumpectomy vs. Mastectomy at a Consultation
So, between a lumpectomy and a mastectomy, which is better for you? That’s another reason to have a pre-surgery consultation. Your surgeon can help you weigh the pros and cons of each surgical option.
Lumpectomy Pros and Cons
A lumpectomy especially benefits younger patients and patients with larger tumors. If you’re newly diagnosed and have BRCA1, BRCA2, CHEK2, or ATM gene mutations, a lumpectomy might be the better surgery. While these pros could tip the scales in favor of a lumpectomy, this surgical option has a few disadvantages. At a minimum, lumpectomy patients usually go through five weeks of radiation. There’s also a slightly higher risk of developing a local cancer recurrence after a lumpectomy.
Mastectomy Pros and Cons
Though more invasive than a lumpectomy surgery, a mastectomy surgery definitely eliminates breast cancer, because of the complete breast dissection. Usually, mastectomy patients don’t need radiation after surgery. If there’s a cancer recurrence, mastectomy patients generally only have radiation to the affected area without further surgery. Furthermore, if you have the BRCA1, BRCA2, CHEK2, or ATM gene mutations, you still have the option of a nipple-sparing mastectomy. The major disadvantage of this surgical option is losing your breast completely. In the case of a mastectomy surgery, you can opt for breast reconstruction or a prosthesis.
Decide Between Breast Reconstruction or Prosthesis Post Consultation
During your pre-surgery consultation, you might also discuss post-surgery decisions. Will you need radiation, chemotherapy, or both? What about recovery—should you go to a rehabilitation facility after surgery or can you get in-home care? If you conclude getting a mastectomy as your surgical option, a post-surgery decision could include choosing breast reconstruction or prosthesis.
Things You Should Know If You Need a Breast Reconstruction
If breast construction seems the best option for you, you should discuss with the surgeon both the benefits and disadvantages. Ultimately, the most significant advantage of breast reconstruction is you permanently regain your breast shape. That said, a reconstructed breast is not a perfect match or substitute for a natural breast. Usually, tissue used in the reconstruction comes from another area of the body and often looks different after surgery.
If You Don’t Need or Want Reconstruction, Consider a Custom Breast Prosthesis
So, you’ve weighed the post-surgery options and decided you don’t want breast reconstruction, but do want symmetry on your torso. There’s another way to achieve that … a custom breast prosthesis. At Second to Nature, we offer a wide variety of products that create a natural silhouette for women with breast asymmetry. We have the largest selection of post-breast surgery fashions, accessories, and products in the greater Roanoke, VA, area. Give us a call to schedule a consultation today!
Call Second To Nature at (540) 366-2711 for information about our services. We specialize in custom breast prosthesis and mastectomy education. Follow us on Facebook for updates. We’d also be happy to further answer the question, “Why should I do a pre-surgery consultation?”
March 13, 2026
Product Feature: Amoena Adapt Air Breast Form

Product Feature: Amoena Adapt Air Breast Form

Second to Nature Offers a Customized Fit After Breast Cancer Surgery
Second to Nature is proud to feature Amoena Adapt Air breast forms for our Roanoke-area clients. From the market leader, Amoena, comes another state-of-the-art product. This is one that caters to the individual needs of women after breast cancer surgery. We’ll go into more about these fantastic breast forms in a moment.
As we remind readers regularly, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women. Worldwide in 2018 healthcare statistics reported more than two million new breast cancer cases. This means an increasing number of women seek care for breast cancer, with many requiring total mastectomy.
Breast Prosthesis After Total Mastectomy
A well-fitted breast prosthesis is an important element of the recovery process for those who undergo total mastectomy. Therefore, a breast form provides a discrete restoration of the female silhouette. Finding and fitting these forms is part of the service we provide at Second to Nature.
The new Adapt Air breast form from Amoena features an integrated air chamber. This benefit provides individual adjustment of the form’s volume for a better fit. For instance, the wearer can vary the volume at any time. Amoena, a global innovator, is a market leader in breast care. This new form raises breast prosthetics to a new level and sets new standards. Second to Nature is pleased to offer customers this versatile product.
Technologies and Features of the Amoena Adapt Air Breast Form
We’ve mentioned the integrated air chamber. This feature, along with a special pump, allows the Adapt Air prosthesis to be individually customized. This combination of technologies offers all-day comfort and better fit to both the woman’s chest wall and natural silhouette.
Where many wearers may report excessive perspiration behind the breast form, the new Adapt Air prosthesis promotes temperature balance. In other words, this reduction in perspiration would be an added bonus for women who wear breast forms after surgery. The patented Comfort + technology is the feature that provides greater reassurance throughout the day.
Adding to the enhanced comfort is its weight. The Adapt Air silicone prostheses come in two different lightweight classes. Compared to a standard silicone prosthesis of the same shape and size, each weighs either 25 percent or 40 percent lighter. Wearing a lighter form would reduce the time it takes to get used to wearing it.
Realities of Wearing Any Type of Breast Form After Surgery
Andreas Harnish, Product Development and Innovation Manager at Amoena, reminds us, “A traditional breast prosthesis may never fit 100 percent because every woman’s silhouette is unique—no two women are alike.” Women may have breast volume that is between two standard sizes. Weight changes due to hormone status, medication, and more can leave our bodies in a constant state of change.
“Also, the scar area is individual for each body, and uneven scarring as a result of a mastectomy is not uncommon,” Harnish notes. “Finding the perfect fit of a breast prosthesis to a woman’s silhouette is a challenge we have taken up with the development of the Adapt Air prostheses. We are pleased that we can make the lives of women wearing breast forms easier with this innovation.”
Amoena Adapt Air Breast Form Provides Customizable Solutions
This customizable new breast form, therefore, may solve some of the daily living challenges associated with wearing them. This enables the wearer to personalize the fit to suit individual needs. A woman who has truncal edema, for example, can adjust the Adapt Air on days when swelling goes up or down. The customizable breast form also allows women to chose from a wider variety of bras. Women can fine-tune the volume of the breast form to fill different cup shapes and styles.
Beyond the emotional challenges associated with cancer and its treatments, there is no doubt mastectomy brings serious change. As a result, the physical balance of the body changes permanently. Thankfully, the Adapt Air with its comfort and adjustable shape technologies can help women regain their natural silhouette.
Amoena’s new breast form offers a more confident outlook for those who undergo mastectomy. In conclusion, it allows wearers to look toward the future with greater confidence and style. Visit our breast forms page for more after breast surgery fashions Second to Nature provides the Roanoke region.
Contact Second to Nature for education and support of persons experiencing breast cancer before and after surgery. We are located in the Woodhaven Office Park, at 5450 Peters Creek Road. Call for an appointment at (540) 366-2711 or use our contact form. Follow us on Facebook for more on our product feature, Amoena Adapt Air Breast Form.

March 18, 2026
Types of Breast Cancer Surgeries
Types of Breast Cancer Surgeries

Welcome once again to our blog here at Second to Nature. Over the next few months, we will raise awareness by discussing a few important issues for our clients. These include the different types of breast cancer surgeries available. Future articles will also explore who to tell about your cancer diagnosis, and choosing the type of surgery that is right for you.

Accordingly, it is our desire to build a culture of understanding through education. To help lay the groundwork, we can start by sharing some enlightenment about breast cancer surgery. Yes, there are a variety of medical procedures available to patients. Let us review some of the most common types.

Surgical Removal and Treatment of Breast Cancer

Clients who receive a breast cancer diagnosis may undergo different types of breast cancer surgeries. Medical professionals use surgical procedures to effectively remove cancerous tumors, cells, and more from the chest and surrounding areas. The doctor may also combine a surgical procedure with another treatment, such as radiation therapy.

It is enlightening to have a general awareness of the types of breast cancer surgeries that clients may face. Each patient’s experience is unique to the type of breast cancer removal or treatment the doctor recommends. Medical professionals provide their patients with full details specific to the type of diagnosis, procedure, and prognosis.

Common Breast Cancer Surgeries

Next, it is important to understand that any type of surgery comes with a certain amount of risk. Doctors and others on the care team will share what patients and their loved ones may expect with the most common types of breast cancer surgeries they perform. Active education and involvement helps to provide more positive outcomes.

Breast cancer surgeries include:

Lumpectomy: This procedure removes a tumor from the breast. A lumpectomy differs from a mastectomy, which removes the entire breast. Women who undergo a lumpectomy are usually recommended to receive radiation following surgery to help prevent recurrence. Some women are candidates for intraoperative radiation therapy. This typically limits the amount of radiation treatments needed after surgery. Commonly referred to as breast conservation therapy, the surgeon will design a lumpectomy coupled with radiation therapy to allow a woman to keep her breast.

Mastectomy: This is the surgical removal of all the breast tissue. If breast conservation therapy is not a viable option, the doctor may recommend mastectomy. Women who have cancer in multiple areas of the breast and/or large tumors relative to the size of the breast are typically recommended to undergo a mastectomy. The cancer specialist may also recommend mastectomy for women with certain genetic mutations (BRCA1 or BRCA2). In many instances, the surgeon will spare much of the breast skin and even the nipple to improve the outcome of reconstruction.

Several Different Types of Mastectomy

For patients undergoing mastectomy, there are several different types of mastectomy:

Nipple-sparing mastectomy, which includes removal of the breast tissue only.

Skin-sparing mastectomy, which removes the breast tissue along with the nipple and areola.

Total (simple) mastectomy, which is a removal of the breast tissue and skin.

Modified radical mastectomy, which removes the whole breast, along with the lymph nodes under the arm.

Factors such as breast size, breast shape, type of cancer, and the location of cancer in the breast and/or lymph nodes will determine which type of mastectomy the surgeon will perform. Your breast surgeon will guide you through the decision-making process. They will review options and outcomes for the type of mastectomy procedure appropriate for you. For more information, refer to the American Cancer Society website.

Education Leads to Understanding and Support

We hope that in sharing this important information that it will help educate readers about what they or their loved ones may experience. Remember that each person’s medical journey is a personal matter between them and their healthcare provider. As caring members of the community, we can all share in raising awareness through education.

Like the staff at Second to Nature, many of us can learn a little more every day about the challenges associated with a breast cancer diagnosis. Sharing this type of education better equips us to offer much in the way of support. Embracing this added empathy means so much to patients who must undergo breast cancer surgery.

Contact Second to Nature for After Breast Cancer Fashions

After breast cancer surgery, contact Second to Nature for the post-surgery fashions you need to help with your recovery. We treat each breast cancer patient who comes to Second to Nature as people first, who happen to have the experience of a breast cancer diagnosis. Operating as we do on a person-first basis allows us the freedom and ability to customize the shopping experience for each client.

Second to Nature is conveniently located in the Woodhaven Office Park, at 5450 Peters Creek Road, Roanoke, VA. Call Second to Nature for an appointment at (540) 366-2711 or use our contact form. Follow us on Facebook to stay up to date with the latest news and specials.
March 18, 2026