surgeon says BREAST RECONSTRUCTION can BENEFIT CANCER SURVIVORS

Words by Jodie Tweed | Photography by Scott Thuen of Thuen Studios

Even if it’s been years since a mastectomy, Dr. Pamela Antoniuk wants breast cancer survivors to know that breast reconstruction may still be an option for them.

A plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Essentia Health in Fargo, Antoniuk specializes in breast reconstruction for women, especially for those who have had breast cancer. She believes women should know their options, and she supports whatever decision each woman makes for herself.

“We want to keep the focus on the woman going through this,” Antoniuk explains.

When she worked on the east coast, more breast cancer survivors chose immediate breast reconstruction than the patients she now sees in the Fargo-Moorhead area, Antoniuk says.

Women are busy with families and careers, often too busy to think of themselves even when facing their own personal health crisis, the plastic surgeon says. Some women have young children at home and don’t want to face any additional surgical procedures after undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Other women are already scheduling their treatments around the planting and harvest seasons on their family farms. Some women just aren’t ready to contemplate reconstructive surgery.

“I always joke with my patients that on the east coast, I had to tell women to go back to work. Here I have to tell women not to go back to work,” Antoniuk says. “The work ethic is incredible here. Sometimes women think because they didn’t have breast reconstruction done immediately, they’ve lost their chance. They hear they should be happy they’re alive and that the cancer is gone.”

Antoniuk knows how to connect with patients as they struggle to make difficult treatment decisions, says Andrea Horning, an oncology nurse navigator at the Essentia Health Cancer Center in Fargo. She explains that some women may be at peace with losing a breast or both breasts, but many find it more emotionally painful than they thought.

“Dr. Antoniuk can read people very well,” Horning says. “If someone is nervous, or on the fence about what to do, she adjusts to meet each individual’s personality. As a woman, I think she can relate. This is a body part we’re losing. I think she’s really empathetic and works well with her patients. She also helps put them at ease.”

Breast reconstruction isn’t about vanity, Antoniuk says. It can be an empowering way for a woman to take back her health. The plastic surgeon says she knows a reconstructive surgery has been successful when she notices a woman’s self-esteem increase through subsequent follow-up visits.

“Women feel better about themselves. They put on makeup, and you can see it in the clothing they’re wearing and they’re smiling more,” Antoniuk explains. “The surgery may be hidden, but you can see the results in their smiles.”

Antoniuk says advanced techniques and implant improvements make breast reconstructive surgeries safer and more successful than in the past. Some patients don’t realize breast reconstruction is offered in Fargo. They think they have to travel to the Twin Cities or Rochester. The federal government has mandated that insurance cover breast reconstruction after cancer.

Antoniuk enjoys the relationships she develops with her patients and their families. Often she gets to know her patient’s spouse, children and sometimes extended family members who join appointments.

As a female surgeon, Antoniuk found a special interest in helping women through breast surgeries, which includes breast augmentation and reductions. She’s been at the Essentia Health’s 32nd Ave. S. Fargo clinic for more than a year.

“I saw a need here in this region. Many patients had to go elsewhere to receive this kind of surgical care,” Antoniuk says. “I am happy to be able to provide these much needed services to women in this community so that they can stay close to home during what can be a very difficult time.”

Dr. Antoniuk earned her medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Newark. She completed a residency in plastic surgery at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, a residency in general surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, as well as a fellowship in hand and microvascular surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania.