Fashion Show Spotlights Loma Linda University Plastic Surgery Department and Breast Cancer Survivors

The Department of Plastic Surgery at Loma Linda University celebrated the tenth anniversary of their Pink Runway Fashion Show on September 23, 2018 in front of an emotional cheering audience of over 450 people at the Riverside Convention Center. It was a day of education, fashion, food, and fun as the Southern California event spotlighted a multidisciplinary panel with a question and answer session and easy interaction between survivors and the treatment team from the Department of Plastic Surgery. The Pink Runway has been recognized as one of only a few in California who are official partners with the national Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day (BRA Day) developed by the American Society of Plastic Surgery (breastreconusa.org).

According to the organizing committee, “The Pink Runway continues to create and broadcast breast cancer reconstruction awareness information.” Dr Subhas Gupta, chairman of the Department of Plastic Surgery, stated “We are all very proud that the collective voice was amplified from the Inland Empire via the Pink Runway. In fact, [attendees] annual participation has helped us develop the Pink Runway in to the powerful change agent it has become for breast cancer patients and their families seeking information about breast reconstruction.”

The event began with a welcome from Dr Gupta and Executive Director Cherl Tidwell. An opening prayer was given by Jillian Payne, Assistant Vice President of Philanthropy at Loma Linda University Health. The presenting sponsor for the event this year was Mentor Worldwide, a Johnson and Johnson Company, that is a leading breast reconstruction product manufacturer. Other sponsors included Allergan, MTF, Glo SkinCare, Obagi Medical Products, Galderma, Loma Linda University Health Cancer Center, and Nelly’s Makeup. Over thirty local businesses contributed products for the door prize giveaways. Special guests in attendance included Dr Michael Wong, the President of the California Society of Plastic Surgeons, and executives from Mentor Worldwide.

The main focus this year was education about breast cancer reconstruction, and the "Fact or Fiction – Breast Reconstruction Panel” showcased four surgeons from Loma Linda University replying to questions from Dr Gupta. Drs Michael Hill, Hahns Kim, Andres Mascaro, and Sharon Lum joined breast cancer survivor Dr Karen Tong and Todd Canfield from Mentor for the panel event to field questions from the attendees regarding breast cancer reconstruction. Key topics addressed were the BRCA gene, surgical options for breast reconstruction, insurance coverage of surgery, and the impact of radiation on reconstructive options and timing.

Guest speaker and author Kara Adams shared her personal inspirational story titles, “The Roadmap to Finding Purpose after Cancer”. A sampling menu featuring Anti-Cancer foods was then served as the models exited the audience to prepare for their runway show. Next was the presentation of the Geeta Sugandh Sunshine Award, presented annually to individuals who have helped shine light on the lives of breast cancer patients. The award was presented in memory of their grandmother by Shayle Gupta and Saira Gupta. This year’s winner was a research team including Insiyah Campwala and June Yoo, both medical student researchers who published a paper earlier this year on the relative risk of breast cancer based on genetic abnormalities.

At the end of the educational program, ten models who are all breast reconstruction patients of Loma Linda University Medical Center walked down the pink runway in fashions provided by Macy’s and had their photos taken by the enthusiastically cheering crowd.

“We had established an aggressive target for attendance, and I couldn't be happier that we met and exceeded this target. I'm also extremely proud of our entire team of volunteers who made this happen by incredibly hard work,” said Dr Gupta. The Pink Runway team was led by Cherl Tidwell who was very excited that the event was so well attended. “We decided to keep registration open until nearly the last minute because of the overwhelming demand from our local community. We are very grateful to all of the over 400 people who came out today and cheered our beautiful models and learned more about breast reconstruction.”

The Department of Plastic Surgery at Loma Linda University provides world-class comprehensive care for aesthetic and reconstructive plastic surgery patients. They have performed numerous pioneering procedures, and are pioneers in cosmetic surgery, breast reconstruction, skin substitutes, and wound healing.

Marc Verdo
I-Med, LLC
4210 Blaine St
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

This release was published on openPR.