A recent report has shown that a majority of the women who are eligible for breast reconstruction have more options than they ever actually know.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons has launched an awareness campaign about breast reconstruction that emphasizes a team approach. The campaign includes online videos that address different treatment options, patient stories, and literature from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Almost 70 percent of women who agree to breast cancer surgery are missing out on forms of patient care that are available to them, according to the ASPS. In nearly all cases, being aware of all the options would ensure a better outcome.

More than 79,000 women underwent breast reconstruction in the U.S. in 2008 – a 39 percent increase over 2007. The ASPS wants to ensure that women who have reconstruction – and those who chose not to – are fully informed.

Dr. John Canady, president of the ASPS, noted that women diagnosed with breast cancer should be immediately referred to a full team of physicians that can provide comprehensive breast care, including a plastic surgeon.

Collaboration between the plastic surgeon and other healthcare providers, like gynecologists, oncologists, pathologists, radiologists and general surgeons, can help ensure patients have an ideal treatment plan. And the earlier they collaborate during the process, the better the plan.

For more information about the new awareness campaign, visit www.plasticsurgery.org/choices/

When the Internet was created back in the late 1960s, it was designed as a means of using digital technology to send academic and military information around the country. Today, the Internet is still used for sending information – mostly pirated movies, cat pictures, and porn.

And now, there is a website where anonymous men pay real, American money for the privilege of chatting with women who want bigger breasts.

It’s called MyFreeImplants.com – and it’s sort of like Facebook for women who want breast implants, and the men who want to pay for their surgery.

It works like this: Women who want implants join MyFreeImplants.com and receive a personalized web page from which to plead their case for funds. Men – known on the site as “benefactors” — can log on, using “message credits” purchased at $1.20 a pop to pay for chat privileges with a given girl.

Guys who are willing to front the $9.95 monthly membership fee get chat access to every woman on the site, along with access to each woman’s photo galleries, blog, and whatnot.

Benefactors can donate money directly to their favorites; the women can send spicy photos and the like to their benefactors in return if they so choose.

No phone numbers, e-mail addresses, or other contact information is exchanged — the guys give money without ever getting to meet the girls. All benefactor bucks are collected by the site management and held in escrow by an associated trust for each client’s benefit.

Once a given woman on the site racks up enough benefactor bucks to pay for her procedure, the trust pays the doctor out of escrow– in full, and in cash.

After the surgery, women who have their breast enhancement funded by MyFreeImplants.com are contractually obligated to stay on the site for six months, chatting with their benefactors and providing them with confidential “after” photos for scrapbooking purposes.

Not everybody is a fan, of course. Many board certified plastic surgeons are less than enthusiastic about the site, saying it promotes plastic surgery as a commodity. Some even say the women are virtually prostituting themselves online.

“It turns a surgical procedure into a contest, and that is not something we think is appropriate,” said John Canady, MD, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, in an interview with the Las Vegas Sun.

Nevertheless, the site’s business model is completely legit, and the site’s creators insist they’re doing nothing immoral. So, it looks like MyFreeImplants.com may continue to do booming business for a while.