Denise “Dee” Smith of Augusta, Ark., had a double mastectomy a year ago. It was hard enough for her to face a life-threatening diagnosis of breast cancer. But the thought of what she would look like after surgery was also very depressing.

So when her physician, Cristiano Boneti, MD, a surgeon at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), told Smith she might be a candidate to have breast conservation surgery that would save her breast skin and nipple to allow the breasts to be reconstructed after the cancerous tissue was removed, she was very interested.

“I wasn’t willing to lose that part of my anatomy,” Smith said. “I didn’t want to have to go shopping for a special bra to make me look something like a woman. I didn’t want to take my breasts off at night and hang them up (with no disrespect toward those who do so). Someone said it was so vain of me to want my breasts reconstructed, but it was more than vanity. It was the fear of having to go back again and again for breast reconstruction surgery, and the additional cost and stress on my family. Having it all done at one time allowed me to step back into my life that much sooner. That is what I needed. It has given me back some normalcy.”

Smith asked dozens of questions of her physician before opting for the breast reconstruction surgery. Even then, Boneti warned her that being able to do the procedure would be contingent on what they found during the surgery.

“I appreciate that Dr. Boneti took so much time with me,” Smith said. “I wasn’t pushed or shoved into the decision. I was allowed to make an informed decision.”

Smith was willing to speak publicly about her surgery because she believes more women—and men—need to know about this option. She knows a man who had breast cancer surgery recently who wasn’t aware of the option to conserve the breast skin and nipple, and having reconstruction during the initial surgery for cancer.

“It is very important for people to have knowledge to make their own choices,” Smith said.

Smith grew up in New Hampshire north of Boston and before her experience at UAMS, she thought that Arkansas might be a little backward when it came to medicine. But after talking to doctors at UAMS and seeing the state-of-the-art equipment, she has changed her thinking.

“This surgery not only saved my life, but also my appearance of femininity,” Smith said. “I’m still a woman, and I look pretty much like I did before cancer ravaged me. It is all because of the incredible medicine at UAMS. This was an amazing option for me.”

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