Copyright NBC 5 Chicago
Proudly sporting her pink breast cancer awareness ribbon, Jody Simmons was filled with gratitude. The retired but now substitute teacher remembered how she felt in July 2023, when she heard the words no one prepares for. "I was terrified," Simmons said, recalling when she learned she had breast cancer. It was detected early during a routine mammogram, but it was also quite spread out. "As a breast surgeon, whenever you have this type of cancer, you have to really go wide in terms of trying to get every single cell," explained Dr. Catherine Pesce, a surgical oncologist with Endeavor Health. Simmons' team suggested a lumpectomy. But that approach alone came with limitations. "The challenges with lumpectomy surgery can be that if somebody has a larger tumor, when that tumor is removed, it can leave a breast group behind that's deformed," said plastic surgeon Dr. Mark Sisco, also with Endeavor. Simmons opted for an oncoplastic reduction. It combines cancer removal with the aesthetics of a lift or reduction. Both were addressed during the same surgery, which for Simmons meant removing all the cancer cells and also feeling and looking like herself, sooner. "I'm so glad that this option was offered for me. Because I feel more like a whole person," she told NBC Chicago. "Anytime you can avoid a second operation, you've really helped a patient," said Dr. Pesce. The doctors have been teaming up with patients for several years now. They work together about once a week for this type of surgery, which is an option for patients without widespread cancer whose treatments do not require a full mastectomy. One in eight women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year alone, according to the American Cancer Society. The good news is that surgical options like this continue to grow, as the death rate from breast cancer in the U.S. continues to drop. Since 1989 breast cancer deaths have dropped by 44% due in large part to improvements in technology and early detection. "While this is growing in popularity, I think there's still a lot of patients who are unaware that this is an option," Dr. Sisco told NBC Chicago. Simmons is now cancer-free and enjoying her life with family. That pink ribbon she wears on the lapel now carries even more meaning.
