Advocate Spotlight: Jessica Prothe
If Breast Implant Safety Alliance (BISA) were presenting awards for outstanding advocacy work, Jessica Prothe would be one of the top recipients. Jessica uses her personal experience, education and profession in the healthcare field to help advance women’s health issues. She’s published, she’s presented, and she is a true woman of action. BISA is so proud of her advocacy work and contributions toward creating positive change.
*This article was originally published on October 25, 2023 and on updated on April 10, 2024.
About Jessica Prothe, RN BSN
Jessica Prothe, RN BSN, is a graduate nursing student at Northern Illinois University. A graduate nursing student devoted to patient safety and patient advocacy. Her current research interests and clinical interests include breast implant illness (BII), breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL), breast implant-associated squamous cell carcinoma (BIA-SCC), breast cancer, and breast health as an entity.
Her efforts are bringing illness-specific care to these disease processes via awareness and proposing the implementation of universal screening for implantable devices. Universal screening for implantable devices is a screening tool that enables the early identification of implantable device-related systemic illness and cancer. Jessica was recently highlight in an articled published on April 9, 2024 from NIU Today: School of Nursing graduated student is driving change.
“Advocacy is healing for me and it’s my greatest passion.”
Do you have personal experience with breast implants?
The American Nurses Association ran a new member article on me; this article does a great job explaining my experience with breast implant devices.
Read more about Jessica’s personal experience with breast implants in the article, “Resilience and Personal Experience Drive Passion for Patient Advocacy: Meet Jessica Prothe.”
Why do you continue to advocate?
Advocacy is healing for me, and it's my greatest passion. I struggled immensely with the health complications of breast implant surgery, and I was only able to regain my health because of my nursing knowledge and social media support groups. I consider my nursing knowledge somewhat of an advantage, and I want to share my knowledge to help others who don’t have the same knowledge resources as I do. I am very fortunate to understand the health complications of breast implant surgery. I love teaching and educating, and the more I share, the more I gain.
Jessica Prothe shares “Universal Screening for Implantable Devices.”
Are you planning to present anytime soon?
I will be presenting at the ISPAN 2023 Program. My presentation is October 27th, 2023, 4:00-4:30 pm Concurrent Session B. This is an exciting opportunity as it is my first stage presentation! Up until this point, I have only done nursing poster sessions. This step is huge for me, and the was the ultimate goal after the poster.
October 30, 2023 UPDATE:
Congratulations to Ms. Prothe for her recognition at ISPAN 2023.
”You are a 2023 Plastic and Aesthetic Nursing Abstract to Manuscript Award Winner Dear Ms Prothe, Mr. Rozovics, Ms. Sykes, and Mr. Taccona, Congratulations! Your excellent article titled, Breast Implant Surgery: An Overview of the Risks and Health Complications, has been selected as a winner of the 2023 Plastic and Aesthetic Nursing (PAN) Abstract to Manuscript Award! Your very well-deserved cash prize of $500 from the International Society of Plastic and Aesthetic Nurses (ISPAN) will follow shortly. The article was thorough, well written, and explained important concepts for plastic and aesthetic nurses. As the official, peer-reviewed journal of the ISPAN, PAN presents the most current information about plastic and aesthetic nursing practice. Our journal features clinical articles covering a wide variety of surgical and nonsurgical reconstructive and aesthetic procedures. Articles about patient education techniques and research findings are also included, as well as articles such as yours, discussing important ethical issues and trends in this expanding clinical nursing specialty.”
“The International Society of Plastic and Aesthetic Nurses (ISPAN) are amazing. I’m heading home with a happy heart, the 2023 abstract award, many new friends, a new ISPAN headshot, and an immense amount of gratitude. ISPAN is devoted to patient safety and nursing education. I couldn’t be more proud to say I’m a member!”
What are your recent published articles?
Breast Implant Surgery: An Overview of the Risks and Health Complications
Prothe, J., Rozovics, P., Sykes, R., & Taccona, M. (2023). Breast Implant Surgery: An Overview of the Risks and Health Complications. Plastic and aesthetic nursing, 43(2), 68–71. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSN.0000000000000486
”We present an overview of the risks and health complications associated with breast implant surgery with a focus on breast implant illness (BII), breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL), and breast implant-associated squamous cell carcinoma (BIA-SCC).” Read more
Increasing the Safety of Patients Undergoing Breast Implant Surgery Using an Electronic Health Record Enhancement
Prothe, J., Kozak, B., Rozovics, P., Sykes, R., & Taccona, M. (2023). Increasing the Safety of Patients Undergoing Breast Implant Surgery Using an Electronic Health Record Enhancement. Plastic and aesthetic nursing, 43(4), 198–202. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSN.0000000000000522
”Breast implant surgery is a popular plastic surgery procedure performed worldwide. Despite its global popularity, patients undergoing breast implant surgery are at risk for systemic illness and more than one form of cancer. We conducted a nursing workflow analysis at our facility and determined that it is not standard practice to screen patients for the presence or absence of breast implant devices at every health care encounter.” Read more
What are the top issues you want to see changed?
1. Breast implant devices are capable of causing systemic illness and cancer, and I want this information to become common knowledge. I want an immediate knowledge link to be
made regarding systemic illness and cancer and breast implant devices. A great comparison would be cigarettes and their link to lung cancer; this information has become common knowledge.
2. I want to see the health complications of breast implant surgery introduced into academics, both medical and nursing academics.
3. I want to see breast implant illness (BII or SSBI) stop being treated as a diagnosis of exclusion, which means a process of elimination reaches a diagnosis or medical determination. Clinically, this translates into ruling out all other possibilities of the patient’s symptoms before determining whether breast implant devices are the caustic agent. This can negatively affect patient safety, and I would like to see this avoided.
Jessica Prothe supporting the body positive Stand Tall AFC Campaign.
About Breast Implant Safety Alliance: BISA is a 501(c)3 women-owned nonprofit, patient-centered organization dedicated to improving breast implant safety and awareness—through direct collaboration with consumers, medical professionals, manufacturers, regulators, and advocates. BISA is a 100% volunteer organization not funded by implant manufacturers.
Media Contact: Maria Gmitro | maria@bisanonprofit.org | 843.501.6873