Daniela is a 35-year old mother of two. In August 2023 she had a double mastectomy, following a late Stage 2 HR+ breast cancer diagnosis. She is under the care of MUSC’s Hollings Cancer Center. She has experienced a number of post-operative complications including post-surgical scarring and Axillary Web Syndrome, which has impacted her quality of life. Here she explains the “Specials Team” (to use a football analogy) that she is leaning on to help her rebuild her body and spirit.
Q: Can you share your experience working with wellness practitioners and explain how they are helping you back to good health?
A: In addition to my regular Oncology team at MUSC, who have been great, I’ve needed to call on the specialist services of multiple wellness experts. I work with Dr Tron in Summerville, Pratt in Ladson, and Alala, who are also in Ladson. Their services are complemented by Total Wellness in Summerville, and I’m working closely with Align Pilates who are also based in Summerville. I’ve managed to find quite a number of practitioners in Summerville, which is convenient for me.
Q: Can you explain how they’ve helped address the post-operative complications?
A: Dr Tron isn’t your regular chiropractor. I see him for pain management. He is a “less is more chiropractor”. He’s also taken the time to educate me about the root cause of my post-surgical pain and stiffness. His hands on adjustments are minimal, which is what I need at this stage in my journey. Pratt addresses the whole lifecycle of post-surgical recovery; they are the specialists in breast cancer rehab. The Team at Alala have done more than just fit me for bras, compression garments and prosthetics. They’ve helped me rebuild my confidence. I couldn’t bear to look in a mirror after surgery, but I managed to do so with the help of Ms. Felicia. That was a major milestone for me.
Tiffany Moore at Total Wellness has been really important too; she specializes in lymphatic and oncology massage. Tiffany is a survivor herself so she understands what I’m going through. Finally I’ve been working with Heaven-Leigh Jacobs at Align Pilates; Heaven-Leigh built a custom, low-impact strength training program which has got me out of bed during the worst days recovering post-cancer.
Pratt Physical Therapy: The Expert View
On a Mission to Rebuild!
Daniela has been working with us since Feb 2024. She had a double mastectomy, without a reconstruction in August 2023. She started her program with us around 8 months after her surgery, and she’s been coming to see us twice a week. Daniela’s treatment plan includes dry needling (percutaneous cord needling), manual lymphatic drainage, instrument-assisted soft tissue techniques (IASTM) and exercises targeted towards priming the lymphatic system and restoring upper extremity functionality.
In Daniela's words…
“I couldn’t function as a mother! I had no grip strength after surgery. Total Wellness recommended Pratt to me because I was unable to do anything. I was unable to open a car door because I couldn’t grab the handle, I couldn’t hold a laundry basket, and even changing my son’s diaper was beyond me!”
“Four weeks after starting the therapy exercises at Pratt, I was able to stretch behind me to grab something in car. I think I was unloading the groceries and I went to pick up a 6-pack of seltzer waters and thought what in the world? I’ve got my strength back.
“That was my first win. That’s when I knew physical therapy was actually working!
Q: Where next?
I’m young. I have a life ahead of me and I’m committed to healing. I’ll do what it takes. I’m going to continue twice a week a Pratt and will continue to work with the other players in my “special teams”. Longer term I think I can fix the scarring and cording issues. But it takes time to recover from the after-effects of breast cancer surgery and chemotherapy.
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