Workable solution to mastectomy bra/port "conflict"

lovemygarden

Workable solution to mastectomy bra/port "conflict"

lovemygarden

Well, yesterday I wore my mastectomy bra for the first time since my BMX/no recon almost 6 weeks ago. I'd gotten it a couple of weeks ago but didn't feel any need to wear it around the house at all, or outside under still-needed winter coats, so have just stayed flat; but I was invited to lunch yesterday and decided I'd celebrate the occasion by wearing the bra for the first time. Other than the quick fitting at the mastectomy boutique I hadn't worn it at all...



... and quickly discovered that every time I moved, the bra strap would hit the outer part of my port. :-( It was extremely uncomfortable to the point of being borderline painful. I ended up replacing the bra with my post-mastectomy camisole with fiberfill puffies, which was tolerable although still not what I'd call comfy. But there's no way I'll be able to wear that cami during the warm summer months, and I don't want to go flat in public.



Called the mastectomy shop to ask if there is a bra with narrower straps that might not contact my port but was told that the one I chose is actually the narrowest-strap model out there; all the other brands are wider. Drat!



It occurred to me this morning that maybe a regular bra with a contour cup and narrow straps might work, so I went to Macy's to check what they had. Turns out Warners has a new bra called "Up-a-Cup" ... you buy it in your true size and the foam-filled cups bring you out to one cup size bigger. And the straps were narrow and very soft, with the length-adjuster thingy in the back so out of the way of the port as well. I tried one on and it worked perfectly! The strap is skinny enough clear the port area even when I move, and the top of the cup hits just below the bottom of the port without touching. The cups are solid enough to give the proper "bulges" under my spring and summer t-shirts which is what I'm looking for. The interior of the cups is a very nice soft fabric, no seaming or other stuff to irritate sensitive skin.



The regular price on these bras is $32.00 but Macy's currently has them on sale for $22.40. Not sure how long the sale lasts but IMHO these might be a great thing for hot weather wear if you don't want to be trotting around wearing a traditional mastectomy bra with a silicon 'foob'.



I'm going to be stuck with my port for a full year at least, so it looks like my mastectomy bras and foobs will be sitting in a bottom drawer until I can get rid of the darn thing. In the meantime these Up-a-Cup bras will be a great alternative. Just FYI in case anyone else is frustrated by a bra strap/port "conflict"!