Plastic Surgeon Expands Efforts to Help Breast Cancer Patients
By Laura Ingram, Staff Writer
DULUTH- Dr. David Whiteman sees how his patients with breast cancer suffer so he decided to do more than just reconstruct their surgically removed breasts. Four years ago, Whiteman began introducing patients to one another in kind of a one-on-one support system at his office, Southern Plastic Surgery at 3855 Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth. The patients have met in his exams rooms to see what they have to expect during and after the surgery or talk over the phone. Discussions went much deeper than just the plastic surgery. They talk about their experience with breast cancer, from diagnosis to chemotherapy, and their doctors. But this network of breast cancer patients — the Breast Cancer Survivors Information Network— has grown into another movement. Both Whiteman and these patients want to do more; they want to reach out to women who have just been diagnosed by giving them a breast cancer handbook. “Gwinnette County is growing so rapidly but our ability to get information to the patients is lagging behind,” Whiteman said.