Mercy's Jean Wainstock and Lisa Lawson Discuss Options for Mastectomy Patients

Whether a woman has had a full or partial mastectomy or a lumpectomy, she has a variety of options.

What to do after surviving breast cancer is a personal choice.

Helen Battaglia Commodori recently got fitted, not for a bra, but for breasts.

"These new prostheses are custom and lightweight. You can go into the store and find a bra that works for you," Battaglia Commodori said.

Surviving breast cancer twice meant she went through radiation, a double mastectomy and surgeries -- all of which led to an uneven chest wall.

"You're in survival mode, and you're like, 'I have to live. I have two kids at home. I have to raise children and I just want to be OK.' You're not thinking, 'Oh my gosh, I have to have a breast done," Battaglia Commodori said.

Battaglia Commodori said customized breast prostheses are the best option for her. According to Elisa Lawson, a certified mastectomy fitter with the Women’s Health Boutique at Mercy Medical Center, a virtual body cast is created using an iPad that scans all the data to create a more accurate mold.

"There are so many color choices for skin tones to match things up as close as we can. There are just so many characteristics that we can add to the form to make it fit perfectly for them, make them feel better about their decision not to have reconstruction," Lawson said.

"You have options. This is one of many options to feel like you have a body image that you expect, that you feel as much like you as you can, and recognizing that whatever you do is going to be the new normal," said Jean Wainstock, a nurse practitioner in The Hoffberger Breast Center at Mercy who works with breast cancer patients.

Battaglia Commodori is happy with her new normal, saying she is glad to have options.

To view WBAL-TV 11’s interview regarding the Women’s Health Boutique at Mercy, the Hoffberger Breast Center and creation of breast prosthesis, click here.