Pink Soles — Bright Futures

After undergoing a bilateral mastectomy in 2018 and spending years wearing breast prosthetics, Melissa Marion felt it was time for a change.  She met with two other surgeons but didn’t feel a connection — until she met Dr. Sarath Palakodeti.

“He walked into the exam room in his hot pink tennis shoes, shook my hand and asked me to tell him about my breast cancer journey,” she shared. “I immediately felt at ease and knew he was the right person.”

Dr. Palakodeti, the newest cosmetic surgeon at TriStar Greenview Regional Hospital, wants women to know they have choices when facing a breast cancer diagnosis. Melissa was his first patient to undergo implant-based reconstructive surgery at TriStar Greenview — seven years after her mastectomy.

“I wanted to feel like a woman again,” Melissa said.

After surgery, Melissa looked down and saw breasts on her body for the first time in almost a decade. She was overwhelmed with emotion.

“Having this service offered at TriStar Greenview is life-changing,” she said. “It’s so needed for the Bowling Green community.”

TriStar Greenview now offers the most up-to-date surgery options for patients facing breast cancer. Procedures that once required three separate surgeries can now be completed in one.

“Cancer is a gut-wrenching diagnosis. Knowing there’s an option for one surgery is amazing,” Melissa states. “Women deserve to know they have options and there’s hope.”