Advocacy Milestones
Breaking! Federal Legislation Introduced to Include Coverage for AFC!
Everywhere the bill mandates insurance coverage for breast reconstruction, it also mandates coverage for chest wall reconstruction. Additionally, the bill specifies that chest wall reconstruction includes flat closure.
Legal Milestone in the Fight Against Flat Denial
In a first-ever legal victory for the flat advocacy movement, a woman in California has successfully held her surgeon accountable after she experienced what is known as flat denial—being left with excess skin after a mastectomy despite having clearly chosen to go flat.
Society of Surgical Oncology Says Surgeons Should Offer AFC
“Discussion of all options, including flat closure, is vital to guide shared decision making and empower patient choice regarding BRRM [Bilateral Risk-Reducing Mastectomy] … Surgeons should elicit the patient’s preference for reconstruction and offer the option of aesthetic fat closure.”
US Government Says AFC Covered Under WHCRA
The US government now says that AFC is a type of breast reconstruction and as such must be covered by insurance alongside conventional breast reconstruction!
Webinar on AFC – May 3rd
UPDATE! The recorded webinar is now available on YouTube here. On May 3rd, 2023 from 12-1 PM ET, join the Program for […]
FLAT New Year’s Milestones
We are thrilled to report TWO New Year’s FLAT milestones at NPOAS! Today, Fierce, FLAT, Forward reached 10,000 members! This […]
NY Governor Signs AFC Bill Into Law
Breaking! NY Governor Kathy Hochul has just signed historic AFC legislation! AFC services are now required by law to be covered by insurance in the state of New York.
AFC Info at BreastCancer.org!
Breastcancer.org is the premier online educational resource for breast cancer, with information about risk, diagnosis, treatments, surgical options, survivorship and […]
Update on NPOAS Oncology Nursing Conference Exhibit
NPOAS represented FLAT the last week of April 2022 at the Oncology Nursing Society ‘s 2022 Congress! Huge thanks to lead volunteer […]
NY AFC Bill Passes in Senate!
This Just In… NY Bill has PASSED in the Senate! As of May 31st, the New York AFC bill has […]
NCCN’s 2022 Guidelines for Patients Updated to Include “Flat Closure”
A Huge WIN for Patient Education! Groundbreaking News! Absolutely stellar news from flat advocates Robyn Towt (GPAC) and Andrea Citarelli […]
NY Bill A8537 Marching Forward!
Big news on the legislative advocacy front! NY Bill A8537 – Insurance Coverage for AFC has just cleared a major […]
NPOAS at Oncology Nursing Society Conference
NPOAS is representing FLAT this week at the Oncology Nursing Society ‘s 2022 Congress! Huge thanks to lead volunteer Renee […]
#ASBRS2022 Conference Update
We were so happy to be able to exhibit at the annual meeting of the The American Society of Breast […]
ASPS Supports NY Bill
HUGE NEWS! The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the New York State Society of Plastic Surgeons are supporting […]
NPOAS Exhibiting at ASBRS Conference 2022
History is going to be made at the American Society of Breast Surgeons annual conference in Spring 2022 in Las Vegas. The […]
Milestones in AFC Advocacy 2020-2021
Thanks to the tireless work of flat advocates and our supporters, and despite a global pandemic, we saw major progress […]
ASPS Roundtable Includes AFC
The new American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Breast Reconstruction Roundtable (a six part series) includes aesthetic flat closure and SWIM (Goldilocks)!
NPOAS Welcomes Ronduit Plat to the Council of International Advocates!
NPOAS is thrilled to welcome Corrie Kamminga (Netherlands) of Ronduit Plat to our Council of International Advocates! “In the Netherlands, […]
Fall 2021 AFC in the Media Roundup
May 05, 2021 “People have questioned me for not getting implants but the truth is none of us feel truly […]
Research is Making the Case for Aesthetic Flat Closure
Improving the standard of care for aesthetic flat closure must be based on evidence… evidence that we are now seeing come to fruition.
Breaking! Aesthetic Flat Closure Research Just Published in Annals of Surgical Oncology
Historic flat closure research published in the Annals of Surgical Oncology
Progress: Marie-Claude Belzile’s Petition Gets Traction in Québec’s National Assembly
After getting “mastectomie a fini plat” on the books, Marie-Claude Belzile’s petition is getting traction in the Québec National Assembly!
Aesthetic Flat Closure on the NYBRA Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery!
Plastic surgeons are spreading the word – aesthetic flat closure. Our sincere thanks to Directory surgeon Dr. Ron Israeli and […]
Progress in Québec: “Mastectomie à fini plat”
Progress in Québec! Their online French-English translation database, Grand dictionnaire terminologique, now includes “mastectomie à fini plat“, the French analogue […]
Announcing our Council of International Advocates
Announcing our Council of International Advocates! Flat advocacy is a global movement, with a common purpose. The Council of International […]
Summary of Our Flat Closure Research from #SABCS19
“Flat closure after mastectomy: are your patients satisfied with the results?” NPOAS presented our poster at the 2019 San Antonio […]
Aesthetic Flat Closure – Word is Spreading!
Pioneering breast cancer research organization, the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, has added “aesthetic flat closure” to their webpage on […]
Aesthetic Flat Closure is now on Wikipedia
Aesthetic flat closure is now on Wikipedia, the open source online encyclopedia.
Spread the Word: Aesthetic FLAT Closure
Going FLAT? Let’s be clear. Tell your surgeon you want an “aesthetic flat closure” as defined by the National Cancer Institute so your surgeon will know exactly what you want: a smooth, flat chest.
How We Do It
How we do it: a look inside our past, present and planned advocacy work to #putflatonthemenu
Flat Friendly Surgeons Directory Milestone!
The NPOAS Flat Friendly Surgeon’s Directory now has over 200 listings!
Dr. Attai’s Flat Closure Research Poster
Dr. Attai (UCLA) publishes historic flat closure research poster
NCI Adds “Aesthetic Flat Closure” to Dictionary
NCI has just defined “aesthetic flat closure” as a unique reconstructive procedure requiring an aesthetic surgical approach – a huge milestone for flat parity
OPBC Adds “Optimal Flat Closure” to Mission
The Oncoplastic Breast Consortium has added “optimal flat closure” to their mission – a huge milestone for flat parity
Empowering Patients with a Bill of Rights
Coalition of surgeons & researchers proposes a Cancer Patient’s Bill of Rights highlighting shared decision making and informed consent