BRA Day Inaugural Event: Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day is an initiative founded by Toronto Plastic Surgery’s own Dr. Mitchell Brown, that promotes education, awareness and access for women considering post-mastectomy breast reconstruction.

See what he has to say about it.

1. First, what is BRA day? 

Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day is an initiative that promotes education, awareness and access for women considering post-mastectomy breast reconstruction. Today, hundreds of educational events are held across the world on and around BRA Day, which typically occurs on the third Wednesday of October. These events bring physicians, surgeons, nurses, support staff and, especially, patients together to improve education and awareness around options for breast reconstruction.

 2. Why is this event so important to you? 

I am so lucky to have many great reconstructive options for breast cancer patients. Unfortunately, there are still far too many women that are never presented with these options. Education and awareness are the first steps to ensure that women with breast cancer can make the best choice about whether or not to undergo reconstruction and what type of reconstruction is best for them.

 3. Dr. Brown, tell us a bit about why you founded the event. 

Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day was founded in 2011 to address a clear need for better access, education and awareness for options related to breast reconstruction. Over the many years of my career, I had been meeting with women who had previously undergone mastectomy and went years without knowing that breast reconstruction was even an option. To me, this was unthinkable, especially in an advanced country like Canada. The message certainly has grown and since 2011 BRA Day is now celebrated in over 30 countries worldwide.

4. Who can benefit from this event? 

Breast cancer patients, their families and support networks, physicians, surgeons and other healthcare workers that look after breast cancer patients can all benefit from BRA Day events. This event will provide an overview of current options for reconstruction both in the immediate (same time as mastectomy surgery) and delayed (months or years later) settings. It will provide an opportunity to ask questions of the surgeons involved as well as from recent patients that have undergone reconstruction or even those that have chosen not to.

Your Breast Cancer Awareness Month donation will be matched!* see link below for full details October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and while we celebrate the remarkable progress that has been made against breast cancer, it is still true that 1 in 8 women in Canada are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. For the month of October, your generous donation will be matched to make twice the impact in transforming the future of breast cancer for the nearly 29,000 people in Canada estimated to be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022.

If you want to make difference here are some great foundations: Double your impact and help shape the future of breast cancer by clicking the link 👇 ✔️✔️✔️

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