Billie Jean Smith. Photo courtesy of ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Milwaukee –Jan 21, 2021 – ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis announced today the appointment of
Billie Jean Smith (President), intellectual property attorney at Boyle Fredrickson;
Linda E.B. Hansen (Vice President), retired partner at Foley & Lardner LLP;
Gina Rich (Secretary), writer and community volunteer; and
Cindy Moon-Mogush (Treasurer), chief marketing & communications officer at Bethesda Lutheran Communities to its Board of Directors. These appointments bring ABCD’s total board membership to 15.
“I’m honored to lead the Board at such a pivotal time,” said Billie Jean Smith. “Now more than ever, breast cancer patients need emotional support as they deal with feelings, concerns, and questions about their diagnosis as well as added fears related to the COVID pandemic – such as going to treatment alone, delayed surgeries, and hospitals stays without v
December 13, 2020
The risk of becoming dependent on pain medication and sedatives after mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgery is more significant than doctors realized.
A study presented this week at the virtual meeting of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) found that people who underwent mastectomy and breast reconstruction were at increased risk of developing dependence on pain and sedative medication.
The study showed that 13.1 percent of patients who were not prior opioid users became new persistent opioid users after surgery. Researchers found 6.6 percent of patients who were not prior sedative-hypnotic users became persistent users after surgery.
“It’s striking how many patients this is an issue for. It’s more than maybe we would have thought prior to doing the study,” said the lead author, Jacob Cogan, MD, a fellow in hematology-oncology at NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City.