An astonishingly beautiful, life-affirming and hopeful book, Reconstructing Aphrodite tells the stories of twenty-one women -- all of whom, facing breast cancer and mastectomy, chose simultaneous reconstruction. Through intimate first-person narrative, wedded to startlingly frank and revealing photographs, the women exude courage and confidence in the face of life-threatening disease. The stories these women tell will serve as the inspiration and solace for countless others whose lives are touched by this tragic illness.
In her moving photographs, Terry Lorant has captured the spirit of beauty and wholeness each of these women possesses. Working in concert with Dr. Loren Eskenazi, one of the foremost breast reconstruction surgeons, Reconstructing Aphrodite is a unique combination of photographic and surgical artistry and the courageous stories of women whose lives have been transformed.
The book was born out of the realization that combining reconstruction with the tragedy of mastectomy would all but eliminate the psychological trauma of breast cancer surgery. Dr. Eskenazi and her surgical partner and team have perfected the surgical techniques for these parallel operations.
Reconstructing Aphrodite also contains detailed information about breast reconstruction, and resources to guide you, your mother, sister, wife or friend through the maze of medical decisions that must be made if one’s life has been touched by breast cancer.
The women portrayed in Reconstructing Aphrodite have offered their most intimate stories as a gift so that no woman will ever have to face this illness alone.
