What kind of Breast form/prosthesis

mer1957

I had a single mastectomy 5/1. I am just finishing rads. Should I get a breast prosthesis and if so what kind. I am a 36 almost B. Right now I have just been using the soft form from the post surgical camisole and stuffing my bra. I think it looks and feels fine. Should I continue using that or will something else feel and look better? My insurance will only cover 50% and I hear they are expensive.

caaclark

Hi Mary,

Everyone is different but for me the regular prosthetic felt much more real to me. I remember coming out of my fitter thinking, "Hmm...maybe I can actually move on now." I would suggest going to a fitter if you have one in your area. I was able to try on a variety of forms and she was able to guide me so that I chose one that was both comfortable and looked like my non-bc side. Mine cost $299. Some are more expensive than that. One other thing to think about...Having the breast form makes me never worry about someone leaning up against me and knowing that the boob is fake. Not that I hide the fact that I have one fake-anyone who knows me knows that I had bc and did not reconstruct but really, no one would know if I did not tell them.

OLBinNJ

I have an amoena contact lite, which sticks to your chest so you can wear it with a regular bra. I love it in the winter, but when it gets at all warm, it doesn't stick and starts to itch. I just got an amoena leasure form, and have been using that in the summer. I also have an ABC swim form so I wear exercise tops whenever I can. They're like sports bras, but come down to the waist, and the ones I get also come up high (they look like the top of a tankini). They come with a shelf bra, so I go to a fabric store and buy a bra to sew in and then add a pocket. I am on a quest for the perfect breast form for me, and have come to realize that it will be more than one since different bras and bathing suits fit differently. As to needing or not needing a silicone form, I think since you aren't really big, you may not need one and may be comfortable in a leisure form (@ $30-35). I'm a 34 A/B and since my remaining boob isn't heavy, there is no need to balance it with a heavy breast form. Try to find a fitter where you can try on many forms to find the one that works for you. My experience with a bra store that had a fitter wasn't great, but I found a Prosthetic place that has a great fitter who will order forms for me to try. If they don't work for me, she sends them back and we try something else. She works with many suppliers, rather than the bra store that worked mainly with one and tried to push their products instead of trying to help me find what was best for me. Depending on where you are in Michigan, you may need to travel to a fitter. In that case, I would suggest going online to Park Mastectomy and some of the others, and selecting what you are interested in, then have the fitter order them for you in different sizes so you can try them on. If you can't get to a fitter, go online, find what looks good, guess at the size using their size charts, make sure you can return what doesn't work for you, and order away. Finding the right size can be very frustrating! If cost is an issue, you may be able to get away with just using a leisure form. Unfortunately, this is all trial and error, and everyone's experience is different. Good luck.