Testimonials
"Just over one year ago, I underwent a breast reconstruction surgery (following a mastectomy from breast cancer five years ago) and worked with a pioneering surgeon, Dr. Loren Eskenazi, who is doing groundbreaking work with transformational surgery and healing. I believe the concepts of transformational surgery and healing can help bring dramatic and positive change and health to people’s lives, just like it did with my life.
The surgical reconstruction of my breast not only made a significant cosmetic change in my physical body, but working with Dr. Eskenazi on transformational surgery concepts, I was able to explore and initiate major healing and life changes through the actual event of the surgery. This self-discovery and the transformational significance of the surgery were even more impactful than the surgery itself. I believe there are great possibilities for people to apply transformational surgery and its principles to many significant life passages and changes.
I’d like to share the highlights of my story to help you understand my experience, and the possibilities for others. Although some of my experiences were perhaps more complicated than many people may have, the experience of the healing through the transformation surgery has universal application and impact.
I was diagnosed at age 37 (six years ago) with breast cancer. A busy corporate executive at a large international software company, a new wife (married just 10 months), a new mother to my two stepchildren (ages 7 and 4 at the time) and seemingly healthy as a horse, I was shocked, scared and fearful for my life and the effect on my loved ones.
After an intense period of tests, I had a mastectomy of my right breast and sentinel lymph node dissection in October 2001 just weeks after my first wedding anniversary. I was very lucky. The lymph node dissection showed the cancer had not progressed and with the breast now removed, I was declared cancer-free, but on high alert. What a blessing I felt, and I began life again with a renewed sense of joy.
Working with Dr. Eskenazi and her team of professionals in preparation for the surgery, I created a ritual that embodied the essence of what the reconstruction meant to me. I meditate daily, and in my home, I’ve created meditation spaces with altars that serve as small sanctuaries. Creating a new altar for this ritual felt natural to me. I meditated and performed my ritual at the altar as I prepared for the upcoming surgery – always envisioning the exciting ways my life would be transformed and healed through the surgery.
On the actual day of the surgery, imagine the excitement I felt as I sat in the operating room knee to knee and praying with my surgeon as we performed the ritual for the success of my surgery. It felt amazing to have this kind of intimacy with my surgeon. There was no anxiety and nervousness that are normally felt for major surgeries, and it was clear that every ounce of energy that had been put into the surgery preparation had already created such a sense of comfort that I’m positive had a beneficial impact to my healing. In hindsight, I see where anyone could apply these principals for a major surgery on their own, even without their surgeon actively participating in the ritual or transformational aspects.
The impact of this surgery and the way we approached it has made the most incredible differences in my life. My actual healing from the surgery was painless and fast. My health is wonderful today and I feel energy and enthusiasm regularly. I’ve regained the sense of femininity I felt disconnected from. Instead of feeling victimized by all the challenges connected to my health, the ritual helped me define what I wanted to create newly in my life from the surgery.
At the altar that I created for the surgery, I continue to meditate and perform rituals of thankfulness for the wholeness I feel as a woman today. My willingness to share the transformational process had a amazing effect on others around me. People want to help, and often don’t know how best to do this. This process allowed others to share in the healing.
Today, I devote a tremendous amount of my time to being an advocate for health and healing in the world, and have joined the boards of several health-related organizations. When I share this story through speaking to community groups and others, particularly women, people always tell me how huge this story was to them. They hear the possibility for themselves to create what they want in their lives no matter what there circumstances are, whether it’s a reconstruction from something traumatic like cancer or an accident, or if it’s a cosmetic change to bring something they desire to their lives.
I believe a huge part of the incredibleness of transformational surgery is that it’s an entirely different and healthy way to consider and approach cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. I’ve seen and experienced firsthand how this shift in our thinking about cosmetic and reconstructive surgery can take us from feeling victimized or “less than” to CHOOSING the surgery to have healing and new possibilities in our lives. I know how this approach heals more than just the body and outward appearance. It incorporates healing and transformation for the soul and mind also.
Dr. Eskenazi has written a book, “More than Skin Deep: Exploring the Real Reasons Why Women Go Under the Knife”, that I feel beautifully explores the thinking, choices and possibilities of reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. This is not another book on the sensationalism and standard thinking about cosmetic surgery. This is a book about healing and possibilities for people. It’s a book about well-being.
I hope that you find this information as incredibly important as I have. From my experience in sharing with others, I just know the difference it has made in their lives and what they know they can choose for themselves and their lives.
Thank you very much for your consideration and most importantly, for the wonderful work you contribute to the world.
My sincerest thanks,”
--LB
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