For breast cancer survivors, recovery doesn’t end with medical treatment and physical convalescence. For many, the emotional struggle that follows breast cancer is equally as great and doubly long. Studies have shown that significant emotional distress affects up to 33 percent of breast cancer survivors for as long as 20 years after treatment.

One of the most drastic and lingering affects women face after surviving breast cancer are the changes done to their body after undergoing a mastectomy. After a mastectomy, women may be left with uneven or otherwise misshapen breasts. Many women choose to wear padded bras and other clothing to mask the remnants of their mastectomy. But even so, women may feel that a significant part of their femininity and identity has been lost after breast cancer.

To help heal the emotional scars that breast cancer leaves behind, many doctors regularly offer breast reconstruction to cancer survivors. Breast reconstruction, which is both similar to and different from cosmetic breast augmentation, can help restore the shape and fullness of a woman’s breasts after a mastectomy in a way that is safe and natural-looking. To onlookers, the change may be subtle—but to the patient, having the volume and wholeness in body that they enjoyed before going through breast cancer can be dramatically therapeutic.

If implants are used, they can sometimes be inserted immediately after the mastectomy, but in some cases, patients should wait until the skin and tissue of the chest has adjusted and any radiation treatments have been completed. While breast implants are intended to be permanent, they can be surgically removed down the road, if needed.

The first step to undergoing breast reconstruction surgery is to consult with a plastic surgeon. Restoring a woman’s breast to their pre-surgery condition requires in-depth assessment of the woman’s body and careful selection of techniques and implant type, size, and shape. For example, Dr. Amy Bandy, a Newport Beach breast reconstruction specialist who often works with breast cancer survivors, lavishes great attention to detail during the consultation phase in order to ensure that a woman feels like herself after the procedure is complete. In this way, breast reconstruction can play an integral role in recovering from breast cancer.